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VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA 

Thomas Leonard Watson, Ph. D. 

DIRECTOR 



Bulletin No. V 



THE 



Underground Water Resources 



OF THE 



Coastal Plain Province 
of Virginia 



BY 
SAMUEL SANFORD 



Prepared in Cooperation with the 
United States Geological Survey 



pn 



VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA 

Thomas Leonard Watson, Ph. D. 

DIRECTOR 



Bulletin No. V $3 



THE 



Underground Water Resources 



OF THE 



Coastal Plain Province 
of Virginia 



BY 
SAMUEL SANFORD 



Prepared in Cooperation with the 
United States Geological Survey 



CHARLOTTESVILLE 

University of Virginia 

1913 

V 





Bv TransOr 
OCT 22 1917 













STATE GEOLOGICAL COMMISSION 



William Hodges Manx, Chairman, 
Governor of Virginia. 

E. A. Alderman, 

President of the University of Virginia. 

P. B. Barringer, 

President of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. 

E. W. Nichols, 

Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute. 

A. M. Bowman, 

Member of the House of Delegates. 



Thomas Leonard Watson, 
Director of the Survey. 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Introduction . . 1 

Scope of report 1 

Acknowledgments 1 

Literature 2 

Results of investigation 3 

Topographic and Geologic Provinces of Virginia 5 

General statement 5 

Piedmont Plateau 5 

General description 5 

Coastal Plain 7 

General description 7 

Geographic position 7 

Climate 7 

Topography 10 

General description 10 

Terraces or terrace plains 10 

Topographic types 10 

Geologic relations of Coastal Plain deposits 11 

General description 11 

Thickness of deposits 11 

Crystalline rocks 12 

Character and extent 12 

Bed-rock topography '. 12 

Water supplies 13 

Sedimentary Deposits 14 

Cretaceous 14 

Lower Cretaceous 14 

Potomac group 14 

Extent and character 14 

Origin 15 

Divisions 15 

Patuxent formation 15 

Patapsco formation 15 

Water supplies 16 

Upper Cretaceous 16 

Tertiary 17 

Eocene 17 

Pamunkey group 17 

Extent and character 17 

Divisions 18 

Aquia formation 18 

Nanjemoy formation 18 

Water supplies 19 

Miocene 19 

Chesapeake group 19 

Extent and character 19 

Divisions 20 

Calvert formation 20 

Choptank formation 20 

St. Mary's formation 20 

Yorktown formation 20 

Water supplies 21 

Pliocene (?) 21 

Lafayette formation 21 

Extent and character 21 



CONTENTS v 

Page 

Origin 22 

Water supplies 22 

Pleistocene 23 

Columbia group . 23 

Character and extent 23 

Divisions 23 

Sunderland formation 25 

Wicomico formation 25 

Talbot formation 25 

Origin 25 

Water supplies 26 

Undifferentiated Columbia beds 26 

Extent and character 26 

Water supplies 27 

Summary of geologic formations and their water supplies 28 

Underground Waters 31 

Origin, occurrence, and distribution 31 

General statement 31 

Evaporation 31 

Pun-off 31 

Controlling factors in soil absorption 31 

Storage capacity of soils 32 

Soils and soil solutions 32 

Soils 32 

Soil solutions 36 

Ground Water 37 

Definition of ground water 37 

Water table 37 

Fluctuations of water table 37 

Perched ground water 38 

Circulation of ground water 39 

Rate of movement of underground water 40 

Underground lakes and rivers 41 

Ground water temperature 41 

Chemical composition of ground water 41 

Normal chlorine 42 

Pollution of ground water 43 

Areal extent of pollution 43 

Emergence of ground water 44 

Seeps 44 

Springs 44 

Types of Coastal Plain springs 45 

Normal springs 46 

Perched springs 46 

Artesian springs 46 

Sources of spring waters 46 

Permanence of flow 47 

Purity of supply 47 

Pollution of spring sources 47 

Quality of spring waters 48 

Deep and artesian waters , 48 

Function of ground water 48 

Deep circulation 48 

Temperatures of deep water / 40 

Composition of deep water . 51 

Artesian waters _^ 51 



vi CONTENTS 

Page 

Definition of artesian 51 

Artesian conditions 51 

-tal Plain an artesian slope 52 

Source of artesian water 52 

Initial head 53 

Lose of head 53 

Ponded water 53 

Fluctuations of level in artesian wells 54 

Quality of artesian waters 54 

\ rt <•- i:i ti sands 55 

Number 55 

Potomac sands 56 

Pamunkey Bands 56 

< hesapeake -and- 57 

Columbia -amis 58 

I 1"\\ Lng well areas 58 

t lonsen a1 ion of artesian supplies 59 

Recover oi _\\ \ 1 1 b 60 

( listens 60 

BpringB and seeps 60 

Improvement of BpringB 61 

l Be of rams 61 

Collecting tunnels and drains 61 

General Btatemenl 61 

Mount Vernon collecting tunnels 62 

Wells '. 63 

Dug wells 63 

Bored wells 64 

Driven wells 64 

Drilled wells 65 

Magnetic wells 68 

yield of wells 68 

[,(,<.., . s of head or yield in flowing wells t'>!> 

69 

Faults in Binking 70 

Faults in maintenance 70 

leel 70 

kbuse 70 

Intel f< rence 71 

Utilization of supply 72 

Ram 8 ai flowing wells 7:> 

itary protection of well- ;:; 

I'ii Mi' healtn a- related t" underground water supply 7.'> 

Municipal water supplies 75 

ii' e of supply 7.") 

75 

i aderground water 7<i 

Suitability of surface and underground water- for municipal need-. ~c> 

Notes "ii citj and t<-\\n supplies 76 

Mil;- i .i l •'■ aters 82 

lue of mineral water- S3 

Deep Wells in crystalline r<»eks 83 

aeral Btatemenl .s:} 

w eii- near Richmond 85 

I condil i"ii- s;> 

\\ • 11- near river front . 85 

mond Pa per < !o 85 



CONTENTS vii 

Page 

Albemarle Paper Co 85 

Other wells 86 

Wells near the center of the city 86 

Hotel Jefferson 86 

Chesterfield apartments 87 

Murphy's hotel 88 

Richmond hotel 89 

Wells in the northwestern part of Richmond, etc 90 

Wells south of Richmond 92 

Emporia . 93 

Probability of finding water by deep wells 94 

Analyses of waters from wells in crystalline rocks near Richmond 94 

Changes in quality of the water 97 

Deep waters of the Norfolk-Newport News area 97 

General statement 97 

Limits of area 98 

Deep wells north of James River 99 

Fort Monroe 99 

Newport News 101 

Back River 102 

Hotel Chamberlain 104 

Deep wells south of James River 106 

General statement . 106 

Virginia Beach 107 

Masons Creek 107 

Money Point 107 

Lambert Point ..-.../ 107 

Moore's Bridges 109 

Comparison of records 113 

Causes of mineralization 114 

Freshening of deep water 114 

Summary . 116 

Underground Water Resources by. Counties 117 

Accomac County 117 

General description 117 

Underground waters 117 

Distribution and quality 117 

Springs 118 

Wells 118 

Local supplies 119 

New Church 119 

Franklin City and Greenbackville 120 

Chincoteague 121 

Wells on the bay side at Saxis, Belinda, Marsh Market, and Grotons . . 122 

Wells on the bay side farther south 123 

Wells along the line of the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk 

Railroad 129 

Wells on the ocean side south of Chincoteague Bay 131 

Wells on islands in Chesapeake Bay 131 

Conclusions 133 

Alexandria County 133 

General description 133 

Underground waters 134 

Occurrence and quality 134 

Springs 134 



viii ( (>_\ TEXTS 

Pack 

Hume 134 

Erup mineral spring 13.3 

Powhatan 135 

Public supplies 137 

Local supplies 137 

Alexandria 137 

I Ml,,.]- localities 13!) 

Conclusions 141 

Caroline County 141 

General description 141 

Underground waters 142 

Springs 142 

Wells 142 

Local supplies 142 

Bowling Green 142 

Other localities 143 

Conclusions 144 

( harles City County 145 

General description 145 

Underground waters 145 

Occurrence and character 1 45 

Springs 146 

Wells 14G 

Local supplies 140 

Conclusions 14 ( .» 

( Ihesterneld County 140 

General description 149 

I rnderground waters 149 

I Recurrence and character 149 

Springs 150 

Wells 157 

Local supplies 157 

( '(inclusions 158 

Dinwiddie County 158 

( feneral description 158 

Geology 158 

Underground waters 158 

Occurrence and character 158 

Springs 159 

Wells 159 

Local supplies 159 

( inclusions 159 

Elizabel h ( iiy County 159 

General description 159 

Geology 160 

I aderground waters 160 

Distribution and quality 160 

Springs 160 

Wells 160 

Local supplies 160 

Conclusions 163 

Essex i ounty 163 

General description ' lo:; 

Underground waters 163 

Character and extent in.'! 

Springs 16 t 

Wells . . . L65 

Local supplies 165 



\ 



CONTENTS ix 

Page 

Conclusions 169 

Fairfax County 169 

General description 169 

Underground waters 170 

Occurrence and character 170 

Springs 171 

Wells 171 

Local supplies 171 

Conclusions 175 

Gloucester County 175 

General description 175 

Geology 175 

Underground waters 175 

Distribution and quality 175 

Springs 176 

Wells 177 

Local supplies 177 

Conclusions 180 

- Greenesville County 181 

General description 181 

Geology 181 

Underground waters 181 

Distribution and quality 181 

Local supplies ' 181 

Hanover County 182 

General description 182 

Geology 182 

Underground waters 183 

Distribution and character 183 

Springs : 183 

Local supplies 184 

Conclusions 187 

Henrico County 187 

General description 187 

Geology 187 

Underground waters 188 

Distribution and character 188 

Springs 188 

Wells 189 

Local supplies 190 

Conclusions 192 

Isle of Wight County 192 

General description 192 

Geology 193 

Underground waters 193 

Distribution and quality 193 

Springs 193 

Wells 193 

Local supplies 194 

Flowing wells along James River 194 

Flowing wells along Blackwater River 195 

Conclusions 196 

James City County 196 

General description 196 

Geology 196 

Underground waters 197 

Distribution and quality 197 

Springs 197 



CONTEXTS 

Pack 

Wells 107 

Local supplies 107 

( Conclusions 200 

King and Queen County 200 

( reneral description 200 

Geology 201 

Underground waters 201 

Distribution and quality 201 

Springs 201 

Wells 202 

Local supplies 202 

Conclusions 204 

King George County 204 

General description 204 

Geology 204 

Underground waters 205 

Distribution and quality 205 

Springs 205 

Wells 205 

Local supplies 205 

I Rappahannock River 205 

Potomac River 20G 

Conclusions 207 

King William County 20S 

General description 208 

Topography 208 

Geology 208 

Underground waters 20S 

Distribution and quality 208 

Springs . . 209 

Wells 200 

Local supplies 200 

Conclusions 213 

Lancaster County 213 

( reneral description 213 

Geology 214 

I Inderground waters 214 

Distribution and quality 214 

springs 214 

Wells 215 

Local supplies 215 

I 'inclusions 210 

Mathews County 219 

I reneral description 219 

Cc.logy 22Q 

I Inderground waters 220 

Extent and character 220 

Springs 220 

Wells 221 

Local -applies 221 

( lonclusions 222 

Middlesex I ountj 222 

Genera] description 222 

I leolog] 223 

l Inderground water- 22.". 

I )i-i ribut ion and quality 22.'! 

Springs * 22:: 

Wells 224 



CONTENTS xi 

Page 

Local supplies 224 

Conclusions 227 

Nansemond County 227 

General description 227 

Geology 228 

Underground waters 228 

Extent and distribution 228 

Springs 228 

Wells 228 

Local supplies ■ 229 

Deep wells north of Suffolk 230 

Conclusions 231 

New Kent County 231 

General description 231 

Geology 232 

Underground waters 232 

Distribution and quality 232 

Springs 232 

Wells 233 

Local supplies 233 

Conclusions 235 

Norfolk County 235 

General description : 235 

Geology 235 

Underground waters 236 

Distribution and quality 236 

Springs 236 

Wells 237 

Local supplies 237 

Conclusions 243 

Northampton County 243 

General description 243 

Geology 243 

Underground waters 243 

Distribution and quality 243 

Springs 244 

Wells 244 

Local supplies 244 

Conclusions 248 

Northumberland County 249 

General description 249 

Geology 249 

Underground waters 249 

Distribution and quality 249 

Springs 249 

Wells 250 

Local supplies 250 

Conclusions 252 

Prince George County 252 

General description 252 

Geology 252 

Underground waters 253 

Distribution and quality 253 

Springs 253 

Wells 254 

Local supplies 254 

Conclusions 255 

Princess Anne County 256 



xii CONTEXTS 

Page 

« leneral description 256 

Geology 256 

Underground waters 256 

Distributioii and quality 256 

Springs 257 

Wells 257 

Local supplies 257 

Conclusions 259 

Prince William County 260 

General description 2G0 

Geology 260 

Underground waters 261 

Local supplies 261 

Richmond County 263 

General description 263 

Geology 2<>:! 

Underground waters 263 

I)i-1 ribution and quality 263 

Springs 26.°) 

Wells 263 

Local supplies 264 

Conclusions 266 

Southampton County 267 

General description 267 

Geology 267 

Underground waters 268 

I )i-t ribution and quality 268 

Springs 268 

\\ ells 268 

Local supplies 268 

Conclusions 272 

Spottsjdvania County 272 

General description 272 

Underground waters 273 

Distribution and quality 273 

Springs 273 

WClls" 274 

( inclusions 274 

Stafford County 275 

General description 275 

( leology 275 

Underground waters 275 

Surry ( lounty 276 

( leneral description 276 

Geology 276 

I rnderground waters 276 

Distribution and quality 276 

Springs 277 

Wells 27s 

Local supplies 278 

Conclusions 280 

Sussex * ounty 281 

General description 281 

Geology 281 

Underground waters 281 

Distribution and quality 281 

Springs ' 282 

Wells 282 



CONTENTS xiii 

Page 

Local supplies 2S2 

Warwick County 284 

General description 284 

Geology 284 

Underground waters 284 

Distribution and quality 284 

Springs * 284 

Wells" 285 

Local supplies 285 

Conclusions 286 

Westmoreland County 286 

General description 286 

Geology 287 

Underground waters 287 

Distribution and quality 287 

Springs 288 

Wells" 288 

Local supplies 288 

Conclusions 292 

York County 292 

General description 292 

Geology 292 

Underground waters ' 293 

Distribution and quality 293 

Springs 293 

Wells 293 

Local supplies 293 

Conclusions 294 

Tabulated data regarding deep wells 295 

Tables of analyses of spring and well waters 297 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Pi ate Page 

I. Map of part of eastern Virginia showing flowing wells, and chlorine 

content of artesian waters in the Coastal Plain Province in pocket 

Figure 

1. Sketch map showing physiographic provinces of Virginia 6 

2. sketch map showing distribution of rainfall in eastern United States. . . 9 

3. Diagrams illustrating types of Coastal Plain springs 45 

4. Diagrams illustrating artesian conditions in the Coastal Plain Province 

of Virginia 52 

• >. Diagrams illustrating relation of head of artesian wells to topography 

in the Coastal Plain Province of Virginia 52 

6. Sections across Coastal Plain Province of Virginia showing geologic 

relations of artesian beds and of wells drawing on them. . . . (Facing) 58 

7. Diagram showing artesian well relations at West Point 72 

5. Diagram illustrating circulation of water in crystalline rocks, and well 

supply 84 



TABLES 

Table Page 

1. Geologic relations and water supplies of Virginia Coastal Plain 

formations 20 

2. Municipal water supplies in the Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. ... SO 

3. Details of deep wells in crystalline rocks (Facing) 95 

4. Anah Bes of well water from crystalline rocks 95 

."). Details of wells in the Coastal Plain Province of Virginia 298 

<i. Analyses and field assays of water from springs 334 

7. Analyses and field assays of well water from Columbia formations.... 338 

B. Analyses and field assays of well water from Chesapeake formations.. 344 

9. Analyses and field assays of well water from Pamunkey formations. . . . 348 

10. Analyses and field assays of water from Upper Cretaceous formations. . 350 

1 1. Analyses and field assays of well water from Potomac format ions 352 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 

Virginia Geological Survey, 

University of Virginia, 

Charlottesville, December, 1912. 

To His Excellency , Hon. Wm. Hodges Mann, Governor of 

Virginia, and Chairman of the Slate Geological Commission. 

Sir : — I have the honor to transmit herewith for publication, as Bulletin 
No. V of the Virginia Geological Survey Series of Keports, a report on 
"The Underground Water Eesources of the Coastal Plain Province of 
Virginia," by Mr. Samuel Sanford of the U. S. Geological Survey. 

This report has been prepared by the Virginia Geological Survey in 
cooperation with the U. S. Geological Survey and should prove of much 
value to the Tidewater section of Virginia. It forms a companion volume 
to Bulletin No. IV, entitled "The Physiography and Geology of the 
Coastal Plain Province of Virginia/' published by the Virginia Geological 
Survey in January, 1912. 

Eespectfully submitted, 

Thomas L. Watson, 

Director. 



UNDERGROUND WATERS OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

PROVINCE OF VIRGINIA 

BY SAMUEL SANFOKD. 

INTRODUCTION 

Scope of Report. — This report deals with an investigation of the under- 
ground waters of the Coastal Plain Province of Virginia, a tract of country 
some 9,500 square miles -in extent, which -roughly corresponds with what 
has been known since Colonial times as Tidewater Virginia. The pur- 
poses of the investigation were to continue the study, begun by Darton, 
of the artesian waters of the Coastal Plain, and to examine the waters 
obtainable by open wells. Thus this report covers the occurrence and char- 
acter of both shallow and deep waters; the geological relations of water 
beds; extent of artesian horizons and areas in which flowing wells can be 
had ; methods and costs of developing underground water supplies ; special 
adaptability of waters for domestic or medicinal use, and their application 
in agricultural and other industries ; the relation of well and spring waters 
to the public health with particular reference to Avater-borne diseases ; in 
short, the report is intended to answer those questions relating to under- 
ground water that would be most likely to occur to any one interested in 
the subject, whether resident, homeseeker, or promoter of industrial enter- 
prises. 

The facts presented were collected through correspondence with post- 
masters, drillers, and well-owners, and through field work. The cor- 
respondence includes the data received in answer to circular letters sent 
out in 1905. The field work was done by the writer in 1906, 1909, and 
1910, chiefly in the fall of 190G. 

Acknowledg tu ents. — The writer is under obligations to X. H. Darton, 
geologist, U. S. Geological Survey, for hitherto unpublished data relating 
to a number of wells mentioned in the text. Grateful acknowledgment 
is made of suggestions from M. L. Fuller, formerly geologist, U. S. 
Geological Survey, regarding particular questions that came up in the 
progress of field work; and to many well drillers, especially J. H. K. Shan- 
nahan, Easton, Md. ; E. H, Milligan, Crisfield, Mel. ; O. D. Hale, Whealton, 
Va. ; I. B. Clark, Accomac, Va. ; L. Rude, Tilghman, Md. ; S. FT. Fetter- 
holf, Achilles, Va. ; H. E. Shimp, Cappahosic, Va. ; J. W. T. Robertson, 
AVhite Haven, Md. ; and J. V. Bray, West Point, Va., for information 



UNDERGROUND \\ " VTIII: RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

regarding wells and the occurrence of artesian water-. Aclmowledgment 
is also made to Froehling and Robertson of Richmond. Va. : W. H. Taylor 
of Richmond, Va.; the If. Bentley Smith Company of Philadelphia, Pa.: 
and the Spa tiou"- Point Boiler Company of Baltimore, Md., for kindly 
furnished copies of analyses of well waters. Many of the analyses were 
submitted to E. B. Dole and Chase Palmer of the U. S. Geological Survey. 
for recomputation to express results in the form adopted by the Federal 
Survey. Finally, the writer thanks the hundreds of persons who gave 
information regarding particular wells. 

Literature- Though many references to the wells and springs of Tide- 
w.ii.i- Virginia appear in narratives of travelers, in descriptions of various 
points of interest, and in accounts of military campaigns, the literature 
distinctly relating to underground waters is scanty, and is largely confined 
to the writings of Darton. His contributions comprise a paper before the 
American Institute of Mining Engineers, a bulletin on Artesian Prospects 
in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, 6 and mention of underground waters in the 
Washington, Fredericksburg, Nomini, and Norfolk folios. Xos. 13, 23, 70, 
and 80, respectively, of the Geologic Atlas of the United States. By far 
the most important one of these is the bulletin on artesian prospects. It 
reviews the geologic relations of the water beds, contains a number of well 

rds, many of which arc reproduced in this report, and briefly indicates 
the outlook l'<>r artesian water in each of the Coastal Plain counties. 
Fuller and Darton re-stated Darton's views in Water Supply Paper, Xo. 
1 1 I. and Fuller summarized his own conclusions in a paper before the 
American Waterworks Association/ 7 The conclusions of Darton and Fuller, 
chiefly those expressed by Darton in Bulletin Xo. 138 of the U. S. 
Survey, have been briefly summarized by Watson' in a volume 
prepared for the V'irgina Jamestown Exposition Commission. 

The underground water- of the St. Mary's quadrangle, which includes 
a very small portion of Westmoreland County, are discussed by B. L. Miller 
in Folio No. L36 of the United States Geological Survey. 



Darton, V II.. Artesian Wi-ll Prospects in Eastern Virginia, Maryland, and 
Delaware, Trans. Amer. [nst. Min. Engs., \'.m~>. vol. 24. pp. 372-397. 

bDarton, V II.. Artesian Well Prospects in the Atlantic Coastal Plain Region, 
Bull, i . 8. Geol. Survej No. L38, L896, pp. 162-190. 

'Inll'i. M. I... and Darton, V II.. Underground Waters of Eastern United 
■ ol Survey, Water Supplj Paper No. IN. 1905, pp. L27-135. 

"Tullri. \|. |... Artesian Waters of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Amer. W. W. 
\--'n. 1907. 

- \\ .it ~ -i i . I. I.. Min. r;il Resources of Virginia, 1907, i»i». 268-275. 



INTRODUCTION. 3 

The publications mentioned deal chiefly with geologic conditions and 
particularly with artesian water ; references to the composition of the waters 
are largely limited to an occasional analysis. W. B. Rogers 0, in his report 
for 1835 gives an analysis of a spring at Williamsburg. In the Norfolk 
Folio. Darton gives analyses of the water from two flowing wells. Fon- 
taine 6 has mentioned an alum spring near Fredericksburg. Peale, in 
Bulletin Xo. 32 of the U. S. Geological Survey, gives the anaylsis of a 
spring near Eichmond. Haywood, in Bulletin ISTo. 91 of the U. S. Bureau 
of Chemistry, gives a detailed analysis of a spring in Alexandria County. 
Froehling and Robertson have published anaylses of five springs, two of 
which are mentioned by Watson in the report already cited; and Fuller, 
in his paper before the American Water Works Association, briefly refers 
to the quality of the water from different horizons, and the general char- 
acter of the mineralization. 

Nowhere, so far as the writer is aware, have the characteristic features 
of the artesian waters of most of the Virginia Coastal Plain been discussed 
at length. 

Results of investigation. — The study of the Coastal Plain formations 
m Virginia, the examination of springs and wells, and the analyses of the 
waters, have shown that plenty of water is to be had, and except in a 
limited area in the southeastern and eastern part of the Coastal Plain 
artesian supplies of abundant flow and excellently adapted for domestic pur- 
poses can be obtained without difficulty. Enough deep -wells have been 
sunk to prove the existence of several widely extending series of beds con- 
taining water-bearing sands, and it is possible to say at what depth, at 
most localities, a particular series of beds can be found. 

Dug wells are so cheaply sunk that they have become the main source 
of domestic supply. Many such wells from their location and the insuffi- 
cient precaution against the entrance of water contaminated by organic 
wastes may frequently become dangerous to the public health. But dug 
wells properly located and protected will, in many places, yield entirely 
satisfactory supplies. The deposits underlying the terraces on which stand 
many of the towns and villages of the Coastal Plain transmit water readily, 
hence springs issuing from such terraces or shallow wells in the villages 
are easily polluted by filth from vault privies and from cesspools. 



aRogers, W. B.. A reprint of Annual Reports and other papers on the Geology 
of the Virginias, 1884, p. 40. 

^Fontaine, W. M., The Potomac Formation in Virginia. Bull. U. S. Geol. 
Survey Xo. 145, 1896, p. 68. 

cFroehling, Henry, and Robertson. Andrew. A hand-book prepared for the Vir- 
ginia Commission to the St. Louis Exposition, 1004. pp. 97-159. 



4 DNDEBGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

The mineral conteni of the well and spring waters vanes greatly at 
differenl localities, or even in the same locality, hence both the deep and the 
.l,all«»w waters are variously suitable fox domestic use. boiler supply, or 
particular industries. The mosl striking characteristic of the artesian 
waters of certain formations on the wesi side of Chesapeake Bay is their 
relatively large content of sodium bicarbonate. In this aspect they differ 
from many deep water-. 



TOPOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGIC PROVINCES 

OF VIRGINIA 

General statement. — The State of Virginia includes parts of three great 
topographic and geologic provinces which have been traced from New 
York to Georgia. In Virginia they are called the Allegheny Ridges, the 
Great Valleyr the Blue Ridge region, the Piedmont Plateau, and the 
Coastal Plain. The approximate boundaries within the State of these 
provinces are indicated on the accompanying map. The two last are the 
only ones considered in this report. Because of the relations between these 
two provinces, certain features of the Piedmont Plateau are briefly men- 
tioned here. 

PIEDMONT PLATEAU 

General description. — The Piedmont Plateau is a rolling plain that 
slopes gently eastward from the Blue Ridge mountains to where the hard 
rocks which underlie it are overlapped by the relatively unconsolidated 
deposits of the Coastal Plain. Where this plain now lies were once lofty 
hills and mountains, but weathering and the erosive action of the wind 
and the streams has reduced all great inequalities of surface. Since the 
deposition of the Coastal Plain sediments began, the area has been elevated, 
eroded, depressed and slightly tilted several times. It now stands higher 
than it did a geologically short time ago. The Piedmont rivers are actively 
deepening their channels, and are swift-flowing and unnavigable. 

The rocks of the Piedmont Plateau comprise crystalline masses, gran- 
ites, gneisses, and schists. The granites and some of the gneisses and schists 
crystallized from a molten state, but others of the gneisses and schists were 
once beds of sand and clay which after consolidating to hard rock lost all 
trace of original structure b}* mountain-building stresses in time long past. 
The ages of these rocks range from pre-Cambrian to Silurian. Among the 
crystalline masses are detached areas of comparatively little altered rocks, 
reddish, purplish and greenish sandstones, conglomerates and shales, inter- 
sected and parted by intrusions and flows of diabase, a heavy dark-greenish 
crystalline rock. These sedimentary beds and the diabase are of Triassic 
age, and the former belongs to the Xewark series. 

The eastward extent of the Piedmont rocks is unknown. They underlie 
the Coastal Plain and can be reached anywhere in Tidewater Virginia by 
wells of sufficient depth. 



UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 




COASTAL PLAIN 



COASTAL PLAIN 



General description. — -Seaward from the Piedmont extends the lower- 
lying Coastal Plain characterized by its sluggish tidal rivers, stretches of 
flat land, and absence of hard rocks. Under the ocean the Coastal Plain 
beds reach the edge of the Continental shelf, a hundred miles off the 
Virginia coast. 

Gravels, sands, clays, loams, and shell marls make up the great bulk of 
the Coastal Plain deposits in Virginia. In places some of the sands have 
been consolidated to sandstones and the clays to shales; in places, also, are 
shell beds so compact as to form lime rock, but there are no extensive areas 
of heavy-bedded limestones, such as are found in the Coastal Plain of 
North Carolina and of the states farther south. The "rocks" reported by 
drillers are mostly thin, irregular layers of limited extent. Some appar- 
ently are compacted shell beds but many are streaks or lumps of indurated 
sand in which the individual grains are cemented by silica or lime. The 
maximum thickness of the Coastal Plain formations in Virginia has not 
been determined. It may exceed 2,500 feet. 

GEOGRAPHIC POSITION 

The Coastal Plain of Virginia lies east of a line running through 
Emporia, Petersburg, Eichmond, Fredericksburg and Alexandria, this line, 
from Emporia to north of Fredericksburg, corresponding nearly with the 
meridian of 77° 25'. Its length from the North Carolina line to the Poto- 
mac River at Alexandria is 185 miles. ' The maximum width, from 
Assateague Island to west of Milford, is about 115 miles. The total area is 
about 9,500 square miles. 

CLIMATE 

The climate of Tidewater Virginia is mild; nearness to the ocean tends 
to temper extremes of heat and cold. The following table gives mean 
annual temperatures for varying terms of years at a number of places, 
together with the mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures. 



QNDEEGROCND IVATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

Temperatures in Tidewater Virginia. 

(Degrees Fahrenheit.) 

,,, No. rears obs. Mean Month of Month of 

Place i , . 

made annual maximum niininium 

Ashland 15 50.7 July 77.7 

Cape Henry 32 5S.7 "77.0 

Fredericksburg 17 55.8 " 77.5 

Hampton 23 58.9 " 79.2 

Norfolk 36 59.0 " 7S.5 



Jan. 


35.3 


" 


40.2 


Feb. 


33.3 


« 


39.9 


Jan. 


41.1 


•• 


37 . (i 


Feb. 


28.6 


Jan. 


38.0 




37 . 8 



Petersburg 19 57.9 " 77.7 

Quantico 9 54.1 " 77.4 

Richmond 27 58.0 " 78.fi 

Spottsville IS 57.3 " 77.9 

W a r-aw " 78 . 

Williamsburg 15 56.3 " 78.0 Feb. 34.6 

Washington. 1). C 36 56.3 " 77.3 Jan. 33.2 

The climate is humid and the rainfall, which is so distributed through 
the year so as to favor the growth of vegetation, is abundant. The mean 
annual precipitation varies from 52 inches in the southeastern part of the 
province to 41 inches in the northwestern. The larger part of the precipita- 
tion is in the summer and spring, and comparatively little is in the form 
of -now. 

The accompanying table shows the average precipitation at a number 
of places for various terms of years, and also the quarterly periods in 
which precipitation is greatest and least. 

Precipitation in Tidewater Virginia. 



Place 



Ashland 

Cape I [enry .... 
Fredericksburg . . 

I [fl It l J it OI) 

Norfolk 

Petersburg 

Richmond 

Spol tsville 

Williamsburg . . 
Washington, I). < 







Mean 


.Mean quai 


■tcrh 


Mean quarterly 


No. 


years 


annual 


maximum 


minimum 


obs. 


made 












1 aches 


Quarter 


Inches 


Quarter 


I nches 




15 


41.75 












32 


52 . 34 


Jul. -Sept. 


15.72 


Oet.-Dec. 


11.21 




15 


42.25 












23 


43.00 












36 


52.08 


Jul. -Sept. 


16.59 


Oct. Dec. 


10.04 




19 


44.49 












35 


1 l .09 


Jul. -Sept. 


13.60 


Oct. Dec. 


8.87 




17 


1!). 12 












1 I 


45.86 












36 


4 1 . 32 


June Aug. 


12.57 


Oct. Dec. 


9.80 



A map (Chart L2) issued by the United States Weather Bureau from 
which the accompanying Bketch map was made shows how the rainfall 
diminishes in a northwest direction across Tidewater Virginia. 



COASTAL PLAIX 




Fig. 2. — Sketch-map showing distribution of rainfall in eastern United States. 
(From U. S. Geol. Survey Water Supply Paper 223. p. 8.) 



10 UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



TOPOGRAPHY 

General description.— The average seaward slope of the surface of the 
Coastal Plain of Virginia is about three feet to the mile. This slope is 
enough to cause rapid-flowing rivers, but the Coastal Plain rivers are slug- 
gish because they flow through valleys that have been drowned by a recent 
depression of the land. Chesapeake Bay that crosses the eastern part of 
;l,c plain from Qorth-northwesi to south-southeast is the drowned valley 
of a greater Susquehanna "River that once flowed across the now sub- 
merged pan of the plain to reach the ocean, then far east of the present 
; ore line. Potomac, Rappahannock, and James rivers, the principal 
tributaries of Chesapeake Bay. are tidal estuaries to the western edge of the 
plain. Here the exposed crystalline rocks make rapids in the rivers; this 
/,.ne of rapids has been called the "fall-line." Because sea-going vessels 
could not go farther inland, trading posts were established near the rapids 
on the different rivers in the early years of the colony, and these settle- 
ments have grown to the cities of Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Richmond, 
and Petersburg. 

Terraces or terrace plains.— The seaward slope of the Coastal Plain, 
though gentle and as a whole uniform, is, in detail, step-like, broad terraces 
separated by more or less sharply defined scarps running along the river 
valleys and around intervening divides. The higher of these terraces or 
terrace plains, being oldest, are the more eroded; along river valleys and on 
narrow divides they have acquired a rolling surface and are sharply incised 
by the gorges of streams that head in springs or swamps. The lower and 
younger terraces have suffered less from stream attack. Near tide level in 
places the lowesl terrace grades into salt marshes; inland in places it 
carries fresh water swamps, of which Dismal Swamp, lying on its widest 
portion, is the largest. 

Topographic types.— Because of the varying elevation and width of 
these terraces and their manner of dissection, three types of topography may 
be distinguished in Tidewater Virginia. They are here designated as the 
eastern shore, the western shore, and the North Carolina. 

The eastern shore topography is characterized by the Low relief, under 
50 feet, the slighl erosion, and the gentle slope of the land toward tide 
level. Salt marshes fringe long stretches of the coasl and tidal creeks reach 
inland up Bhallow channels. 

T igraphy of the western shore is far more varied. Because of the 

narrow divides between the valleys of the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, 



GEOLOGIC RELATIONS OF COASTAL PLAIN DEPOSITS. 11 

and James rivers, and because along these rivers near the "fall-line" the 
highest of the terraces lies 200 to 400 feet above tide level, there are high 
cliffs and steep descents. The larger tributaries of the rivers have cut 
back into the divides. Their upper courses, locally called branches or runs, 
flow rapidly through narrow Y-shaped valleys or shallow gorges, while the 
tidal lower courses, known as creeks, cross the youngest terrace by shallow 
partly drowned valleys. In places one terrace or another has been cut out 
by the rivers, so that here and there toward the fall line bluffs, or scarps, 
over 100 feet high mark the drop from a high terrace to tide level or the 
lowest terrace. 

The part of the Coastal Plain south of James River has topography of 
the North Carolina type ; that is, it resembles the topography of the north- 
ern portion of the North Carolina Coastal Plain. The stream valleys of the 
higher terraces are more open and have lower gradients than to the north ; 
maximum elevations are less; the lower terraces are more extensive. The 
general slope of the surface is southeast and the rivers flow to the sounds of 
North Carolina. The above differences in topography determine differences 
in the occurrence of underground waters. 

GEOLOGIC RELATION'S OF COASTAL PLAIX DEPOSITS 

General description. — The generally unconsolidated deposits of the 
Virginia Coastal Tlain rest on a floor of crystalline rocks that dips seaward. 
The beds just above bed-rock have an average inclination of about 30 feet 
to the mile ; those laid down last dip 5 feet or less to the mile. Beds with 
steeper dips, 20° to 40°, have been noted in some of the formations, but 
such dips are local. The decrease in the dip from below upwards is a result 
of the initial seaward slope of the crystalline rocks and subsequent eleva- 
tions and depressions. A succession of swings complicated by gentle bow- 
ings or warpings of the bed-rock has alternately carried the coast-line far 
to the eastward or brought it westward of its present position, so each 
great series or group of beds has been laid down on the beveled edges of the 
series below. As the tiltings have varied in direction, the overlap of one 
series has swung across the general strike of the beds in the preceding 
series, and as some formations overlapped unevenly eroded surfaces the 
boundaries on the west are quite irregular. 

Thickness of deposits. — The maximum total thickness of the succession 
of formations is unknown. The deep well at Fort Monroe passed through 
2,242 feet of beds; but the total thickness on the Eastern Shore is probably 



12 CTNDEBGROUND WATEB RESOUBCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

greater. Ai the big bend of Potomac River, northeast of Fredericksburg. 
the ■"rail-line" — the boundary between the Piedmont Plateau and Coastal 
Plain — curves to the easl and takes a north-northeast course past 
Alexandria. Washington, and Baltimore. This may indicate a bowing of 
tin- crystalline rocks into a broad trough having an axis that dips south- 
east. Hence it i> ]><»sihle that at Franklin City, a well would go through 
3,000 feet i>\' sediments before reaching bed-rock. 

CRYSTALLINE ROCKS 

Character mul extent. — The crystalline rocks along the western edge 
of the Coastal Plain comprise an extremely old (pre-Cambrian) series of 
gneisses, that originally were probably of igneous origin, intersected by 
intrusions of later granite, and large masses of gneisses and schists of 
doubtful origin, and age. though sedimentary in part and as late 1 as upper 
Ordovician. These later gneisses and schists, like the older rocks, have been 
cut by igneous intrusions and the entire crystalline complex has been so 
mashed hv pressure metamorphism, that much of the original structure has 
been obliterated and a complex system of folds and faults confuses rocks 
of widely di Herein age and origin. 

Slightly altered Triassic sandstones and shales with associated intru- 
sions and flows of diabase underlie the Coastal Plain near Doswell and 
Ashland, hut have not beeu found by dee]) borings elsewhere. This, how- 
ever, is not surprising in view of the lew holes sunk to bed-rock outside the 
immediate vicinity of Richmond and the probable limited extent of the 
Triassic rocks. The submerged portion of the Coastal Plain, which extends 
1 |H| niik'- easl <>f the presenl shore line, is presumably underlain hv crystal- 
line rocks like those above described. 

Bed-rock topography.— The Piedmont Plateau once extended far easl of 
ii- presenl boundary as an undulating plain, in which scattered hills repre- 
sented rock-masses thai had hot withstood the wear of wind and rain. The 
streams had reached i heir limit in down-cutting, and t he bed-rock was deeply 
mantled with the products of decay. By a seaward tilting in early Creta- 
ceous time, tliis mantle was worked over by streams and laid down as beds 
of -and. gravel, and clay. Since then earth movements have gently warped 

crystalline floor into broad open trough- in some of which the succession 
of sediments i- hundreds of feet thicker than on the ridges between. 
Hence, a- the presenl rock-floor represents an original irregular rock sur- 
face, modified by what bending ha- taken place since sedimentation began. 



WATER SUPPLIES. 13 

depths to bed-rock vary at points equally distant from the "fall-line." 
The Fort Monroe record of 2,24:2 feet shows the average seaward slope 
between the well and the nearest point where crystalline rocks outcrop is 
33 feet to the mile, but the. slope is probably steepest near the "fall-line." 
North of Richmond, particularly along Potomac River, bed-rock slopes 
coastward at a greater rate, and a fall of 100 feet to the mile is indicated 
by the records of wells at Alexandria. This increase may mean that there 
has been faulting of the crystalline rocks near the "fall-line" north of 
Fredericksburg." 

WATER SUPPLIES 

The crystalline rocks carry more or less water and along the western 
edge of the Coastal Plain deep wells have been drilled in them. The con- 
ditions governing the occurrence of water in crystalline rocks and in uncon- 
solidated materials are so unlike, that the chief characteristics of the crys- 
talline rocks as water bearers and the quality of their waters are discussed 
in a separate chapter (pages 83-97). 

Although under special conditions water may travel through crystalline 
rocks for considerable distances, in general its circulation is limited. Where 
crystalline rocks are buried by water-filled porous beds, they contain, near 
the porous beds, water of the same general character as the latter. Hence 
it is not to be expected that wells sunk far east of the western margin of the 
Coastal Plain will obtain good water if the overlying unconsolidated beds 
carry water that is not potable. 



«Darton. X. H.. Later Formations of Virginia and Maryland, Bull. Geol. Soc. 
Amer.. vol. 2. p. 448. 



SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS 

CRETACEOUS 

LOWER CRETACEOUS 

POTOMAC GROUP 

Extent and character. — Immediately overlying the crystalline rocks 
throughout Dearly all Tidewater Virginia is a great succession of gravels, 
cobble beds, sands, and clays classed as the Potomac group. This is exposed 
in stream gullies and railroad cuts along the western edge of the Coastal 
Plain from Alexandria to Fredericksburg, near Doswell, and in the valleys 
of James and Appomattox rivers south of Richmond and east of Petersburg. 
The smoothly rounded cobbles are of quartz, or dense vitreous quartzite. 
some dark, some light; cobbles of igneous rocks are rare. The sands fre- 
quently contain grains of feldspar, and where the feldspar grains are asso- 
ciated with angular quartz grains the sand becomes an arkose. The clays 
show greai variety of color and texture. The proportion of coarse material 
is larger near the hnitom of the succession of beds than near the top; also. 
the upper clays are often rather highly colored, red, yellow and brown, 
while those toward the bottom have more subdued tints, gray and dark 
green. The sands of the Potomac group, notably in exposures near Rich- 
mond and Petersburg, contain countless balls of clay that vary in diameter 
from an inch to a foot or more. They lie scattered through the sands and 
are even jumbled among hard quartzite boulders of equal diameter. Besides 
these halls the sands in places contain large sharply angular masses of clay 
thai appear to have been torn from some bed. Sand and gravel beds com- 
pacted enough to make stone suitable for building rough walls are found 
on Aquia Creek and Appomattox River. 

The Potomac beds show such local irregularities of dip that estimates of 
thickness based on dip can not be exact. It is probable that fully 350 feet 
of beds arc exposed near Fredericksburg and at least 300 feet on Appomat- 
i"\ Unci-. Under cover to the east, as shown by deep borings, the group 
thicken- decidedly. The well at Fori Monroe went through 1.400 feet of 
material classed as Potomac by Darton. 

The elevation of the lowesi visible beds varies from sea-level at the "fall- 
line" to 850 feel in the divides between Potomac and Aquia creeks, Stafford 
County, and 300 feel on the hills northwesl of Alexandria. The average 
eastward dip of the beds is from 30 to r>0 feet to the mile. 



LOWER CRETACEOUS. 1 5 

The most striking' characteristic of many Potomac outcrops is the 
heterogeneous mixture of materials. The sands are prevailingly cross- 
bedded; in places the minor beds are steeply inclined, but no bed is per- 
sistent for any great distance, and sections a few* hundred feet apart in 
bluffs or railroad cuts show little correspondence. Xorth of Fredericksburg 
and in the vicinity of Mount Vernon the upper part of the group is more 
evenly bedded. 

Origin. — The fossils indicate that the Potomac beds as a whole were 
fresh water deposits and the varied aggregation of material in the lower 
beds shows that they were laid down by swiftly-moving currents. The 
fossils are mostly plant remains, impressions of leaves and seeds, with 
here and there lignitized or silicified wood. The animal remains include 
bones of dinosaurs. 

DIVISIONS 

The Potomac beds were first differentiated by W. B. Rogers TO years 
ago : he noted their composition and determined closely the boundaries 
of their outcrops. Since then they have been studied in greater or less 
detail by Fontaine. McGee, Ward, Darton, Clark, Bibbins, Miller, and 
Berry, and have been variously subdivided. Owing to the varying composi- 
tion of the beds, distinctions based on lithologic character have proved 
unsatisfactory. On the basis of plant remains the Potomac in Virginia is 
divisible into two formations, an older and a younger. The older is known 
as the Patuxent and the younger as the Patapsco, from the typical exposures 
on Patuxent and Patapsco rivers in Maryland. 5 

Patuxent formation.- — This, the lower of the formations, is traceable 
along river valleys near the "fall-line" from Alexandria to Petersburg. 
It comprises beds of cobbles, gravels and sands with discontinuous beds 
and lenses of clay and scattered clay balls. The sands are arkosic and 
cross-bedded. The clays are usually gray, drab, dark green, or chocolate in 
color. The fossils include plant remains of early Cretaceous types and 
bones of dinosaurs that have Jurassic affinities. The total thickness exposed 
north of Fredericksburg may be 250 feet. The formation dips east 30 to 
60 feet to the mile. 

Patapsco formation. — This formation has been recognized north of 
Fredericksburg and near Mount Vernon. South of Fredericksburg it is 
absent or is overlapped by Eocene and Miocene deposits. The Patapsco is 



flRogers. W. B.. The Geologv of the A irginias. 

&Clark, W. B.. and Bibbins! A.. Jour. Geol. 1S97. vol. 5. pp. 479-500. 



l(i UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

clayey rather than sandy. The clays are bright-colored, and thicker and 
more evenly stratified than those in the Patuxent. The sands are less 
arkosic. The fossils comprise plant remains of Lower Cretaceous types. 
The exposed thickness of the Patapsco beds may be 150 feet. The forma- 
tion dips easl about 30 feet to the mile. 

WATEB SUPPLIES 

Sandy beds in the lower formation of the Potomac group, the Patuxent, 
underlie almosl all the Coastal Plain of Virginia and constitute vast 
reservoirs of water, but as they are deeply buried a short distance east 
of the ■*l'all-line."" making their development expensive, only a few wells 
draw on them. Mosi of these wells are near Alexandria. Near their out- 
crops the lower Potomac sands usually yield excellent water. Sands toward 
the top of the Patuxent seemingly are not so sure to yield good water. Far 
to the east the supplies become more mineralized and in the Norfolk area 
are too salty to be potable. 

The significance of the disorder of the Patuxent sands to the well 
driller or geologisl is that predictions of striking water at a given depth 
at a given place are little better than guess-work unless the records of 
near-by wells are known. Even then (dose estimates may be erroneous. 
Usually the besl that can he done is to give the probable depth to a succes- 
sion of sandy or gravelly beds, some one of which should carry satisfactory 
supplies. 

UPPER CRETACEOUS 

The Upper Cretaceous doe- not outcrop in Virginia. The outcrops of 
Coastal Plain deposits show a well-marked break above the highest beds of 
the Potomac group. Formations belonging to the Pamunkey (Eocene) 

and Chesapeake (Miocene) groups cut across the feather edges of the 
Potomac formations from the northeast. In Maryland and in North Caro- 
lina bed- of Upper Cretaceous age, sands, clays, and greensands, intervene 
between the Lower Cretaceous and the Kocene deposits. As these beds 

have not been recognized in Virginia in wells less than 30 miles east of 
the ■■fall-line."" their extent under cover in this State is conjectural. IIow- 
ever, the Magothy formation is found on the heights back of Anacostia. 
I >. ( '.. aero-- Potomac River from Alexandria, and the Paritan a few miles 
farther east. Upper Cretaceous beds were penetrated by deep wells at 
Crisfield, Md.. Fori Monroe and Norfolk. Va. Back of Anacostia the 
Magothy may be |o feci thick. Data for estimating the thickness of the 
Upper Cretaceous formations under cover far eastward are not particularly 



TERTIARY. 17 

reliable. Darton thought there were 60 feet of Magothy and 35 feet of 
higher Cretaceous beds at Crisfield, Md., and 120 to 140 feet of "Marine 
Cretaceous 5 ' beds at Fort Monroe and Norfolk. 

The Earitan formation of Maryland includes clays much like those of 
the Patapsco with interstratified sands. The Magothy is of more variable 
composition. The Upper Cretaceous material from the deep wells of 
Crisfield, Md., included greensands, fine gray micaceous sands, and dark 
clays. In the Norfolk-Fort Monroe area the Upper Cretaceous deposits 
comprise gray micaceous sands, dark gray, red and green clays, and gray 
sandy clays. Upper Cretaceous fossils have been found north of Fort 
Monroe by deep wells near Selden, Gloucester County, and Fairport, 
Northumberland County. 

TERTIARY 
EOCENE 

PAMUNKEY GROUP 

Extent and character. — Along Potomac River between Aquia Creek and 
Matthias Point; on the divide between Potomac and Rappahannock rivers; 
along the latter from 3 miles southeast of Fredericksburg to 4 miles east 
of Port Royal ; on Mattaponi River above Marricossick Creek ; on the 
Pamunkey from Hanover to Piping Tree Ferry; on James River from 
Richmond to Coggins Point ; and on the Appomattox between Petersburg 
and City Point, are exposures of sands, sandy marls and clays that contain 
abundant marine fossils, mostly shells of mollusks. The clays below tide- 
level are prevailingly dark-colored, usually greenish, but one, exposed in 
outcrops north of Fredericksburg and found by artesian wells along Poto- 
mac and Rappahannock rivers, is reddish to white. The sands range in 
color from light gray through bluish and greenish shades to almost black; 
many are composed of quartz grains with a varied proportion of the small 
irregularly-rounded dark green or black nodules of the mineral glaucouite, 
a silicate of potash and iron. AVhen these glauconite grains predominate the 
material becomes a greensand or what well drillers term a black sand." 

In the sands are indurated streaks or nodules that form dense hard rock ; 
these streaks are of irregular thickness and small extent. There are also 
hard beds composed largely of shells. At the base of the Pamunkey is a 
thin but rather persistent bed of dark pebbles or small cobbles. 

The contact between the Potomac and the Pamunkey near the "fall- 
line" in places is decidedly uneven. There is evidence near Richmond and 



18 [JXDERGROUXD WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCK. 

Petersburg, where there are inliers of Pamunkey among liills of Potomac 
material, thai the Pamunkey was laid down on an irregularly eroded sur- 
face having almosl as much relief as the present topography. The total 
thickness of the Pamunkey beds exposed on Potomac Piver is 225 feet. 
Unlike the Potomac group, the Pamunkey does not thicken greatly under 
cover, and it thins out to the southwest. The well as Crisfield. Md., pene- 
trated possibly 150 feet of it; the borings at Fort Monroe and Norfolk not 
over 250 feet and possibly less than 100 feet. South of Petersburg to the 
North Carolina line there are no definitely identified exposures of Pamun- 
key beds. 

Since deposition the Pamunkey beds have been slightly tilted and now 
dip 10 to 15 feet to the mile east. Above water-level, owing to the propor- 
tion of iron in the glauconite and the easy decay of the mineral, the 
Pamunkey sands weather to shades of brown, buff and yellow: the clays 
also grow brighter, buff being perhaps the color most frequently seen in 
high-lying exposures. 

DIVISIONS 

Clark, who has described the Pamunkey in Maryland and along Poto- 
mac River in Virginia, divides the group into two formations, the Aquia 
and the Xanjemoy, of which the Aquia contains the greater proportion of 
sandy bed- and the Xanjemoy the more clay. For a detailed account of 
the Potomac River exposures the reader is referred to reports of the Alary- 
land and Virginia Surveys. 

Aquia formation. — This formation is typically exposed along Aquia 
Creek in Stafford County, where it is 100 feet thick. Tt comprises beds of 
greensand and greensand marls containing many marine shells of Eocene 
age. Southward il thins out, is overlapped by the Xanjemoy. and is ex- 
posed in few Pamunkey outcrops south of Richmond. 

Nanjemoy formation. — -This formation, named after Xanjemoy Creek 
in Maryland, outcrops in river valleys from the big bend of Potomac River 
to Petersburg, h doe- not outcrop further south and at the North Carolina 
line ii- western boundary may be 30 miles east of Emporia. It comprises 
beds of sand, greensand and clay, with numerous marine shells. A dis- 
tinctive bed of day. while al the top, pink at the bottom, marks the base 
on the divide between Potomac and Rappahannock rivers near Fredericks- 
burg, and has been recognized in wells along those rivers to the east. The 
total thickness of Nanjemoj beds exposed on Potomac River is about 125 
feet. 



"< lark, \\ . r... Maryland Geol. Survey. Eocene, 1901, pp. 59-71: (lark. W. B., 
and Miller, B. I... Bull. So. i\. Virginia Geol. Survey, 1912, pp. 93-96. 



MIOCENE. 19 

Brief descriptions of the Pamunkey beds under cover, as reported by 
drillers, are shown in the well records published on succeeding pages. 

WATEK SUPPLIES 

Under much of Tidewater Virginia the Pamunkey group is an im- 
portant source of deep water, though the porous sands which give flowing 
wells are relatively thin and few in comparison to the total thickness of 
sandy material and the number of sand beds seen in the outcrops. The 
glauconite sands, because of the proportion of interstitial space between 
the rounded granules of glauconite, give up water more easily than quartz 
sands and such open-textured beds full of the dark green or black glauconite 
are called "water sands" or "true water sands" by well drillers. 

MIOCENE 

CHESAPEAKE GROUP 

Extent and character. — The irregular edge of the Chesapeake cuts 
across the Potomac and Pamunkey beds in a south-southwest direction, and 
south of Eappahannock Eiver to the North Carolina line the Potomac and 
Pamunkey are exposed only in river valleys. On the divides the western 
edge of the Chesapeake rests directly on the crystalline rocks. East of the 
line along which the Pamunkey beds slope below tide-level the Chesapeake 
deposits are hidden only by a thin covering of Columbia material and are 
exposed to river bluffs and in creek valleys nearly to Chesapeake Bay. Thus 
the area in which the Chesapeake outcrops is much greater than the com- 
bined outcrop areas of the Potomac and Pamunkey. 

The Chesapeake beds are prevailingly sandy, with a varying proportion 
of clay. They comprise pure quartz sands, glauconitic sands, sandy clays, 
and beds of marl ; the latter, full of tightly packed marine shells, are widely 
distributed. Some of the sand beds contain glauconite in scattered grains 
only, others are almost as glauconitic as those in the Pamunkey. Streaks 
and nodules of hard, cemented sand or "rock" occur at many horizons, but 
individually are of small extent. The colors below water-level are subdued, 
varying from light gray through bluish and greenish shades to dark 
greenish gray. 

Near the base of the Chesapeake are drab and gray beds of clayey or 
finely sandy material full of the minute siliceous tests of diatoms, forming 
diatomaceous earth. In places, as just below Wilmont Landing on the Rap- 
pahannock, these diatomaceous earth deposits are 50 feet thick. 



V" UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Od exposure the Chesapeake beds weather to brighter tints, buff and 
yellow predominating. The elevation of the highest lying beds ranges from 
250 feel back of Brooke, to about 100 feet near the Virginia-North Carolina 
line. The maximum. thickness of the group in Virginia may be 700 feet. 
The dips are southeast and east, about 6 to 10 feet to the mile. In places 
comparatively steep reverse dips up to 30° are seen, but these are of small 
extent. 

divisions 

Four divisions of the Chesapeake, based chiefly on differences in the 
abundant marine fauna, have been recognized in Virginia by Clark; these 
are the Calvert, Choptank, St. Mary's and Yorktown. This fourfold 
division of the Chesapeake applies to the outcrops west of the bay. The 
relation of the formations far under cover in the eastern and. southeastern 
parts of the State has not been established. Deep wells near Norfolk -how 
a great thickness of dark, fine sandy clays and clayey sands, and few dis- 
tinctive fossils thai might serve as guides in correlating records have been 
saved in drilling. 

Calvert formation. — This formation, the most clayey of the four, has 
been traced along the west edge of the Coastal Plain from Potomac River 
to south of Petersburg. Farther south it is overlapped by the St. Mary's. 
It is well exposed at several localities, notably the bluffs on Rappahannock 
River south of Pori Conway. It contains thick diatomaceous earth deposits 
and shell beds with characteristic marine fauna. The maximum thickness 
exposed is 200 feet. The average dip is southeast and east about 10 feet 
to the mile. It is named from Calvert County. Maryland. 

Choptank formation. — This formation is sandier than the Calvert but 
contains a considerable proportion of clayey beds as well as diatomaceous 
earth. It is not exposed anywhere in Virginia but may intervene between 
the Calverl and St. Mary's under cover in the Potomac Valley as it has been 
recognized and mapped in Maryland. 

St. Mary's forma/ion. — This formal ion consists of bluish and greenish 
sandy clays and gray -and. with many thick beds ( ,f shell marl. It is estab- 
lished as a separate formation Ux the predominance of certain marine shells. 
The thickness is L50 feel and the dip 8 or L0 feci to the mile eastward. 
It i- named from St. Man's County. Maryland. 

) orktown formation. This formation succeeds the St. Mary's so con- 
formably that in. sharp dividing line ha- been determined. It is sandy. 



' STo1 recognized in Virginia bj < lark ami Miller. Hull. No. iv. Virginia Geol. 
Survey, L912, p. I m. 



PLIOCENE ( ?). 21 

richly fossiliferous, and at the type locality, Yorktown, contains firm, fairly 
hard rock made up almost entirely of comminuted shells. Its total thick- 
ness is over 100 feet. As a whole it slopes seaward at the rate of 6 or 8 
feet to the mile, but in places are fairly steep westward dips. 

WATER SUPPLIES 

From its extent, stratigraphic position, and sandy character, the Chesa- 
peake group is a notable source of artesian water. It has been tapped by 
many hundreds of inexpensive wells and its deep supplies, except on the 
eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay and in a few counties on the western shore, 
are soft, "light/ 5 fresh, and excellently suited to domestic use. The shallow 
waters may be hard from lying in beds of shells or iron-bearing from the 
decay of glauconite. 

PLIOCENE ( ?) 

Xo beds containing distinctive Pliocene fossils have been found in 
Tidewater Virginia. There are such beds in the Coastal Plain of North 
Carolina and of other states southward, notably Florida. The Lafayette 
has been classified as 'a Pliocene formation. The lithologic resemblances 
between the Lafayette and the Sunderland formation in Virginia are great 
and there is no definite proof that the Lafayette is older than Quaternary. 
It is here called Pliocene ( ?). 

Lafayette Formation" 

Extent and character. — The Lafayette is a far-extending but relatively 
thin mantle of clay, sand, and cobbles, in which the finer-textured material 
has in places an orange or reddish tinge. This vast, blanket-like deposit, 
usually gravelly toward the base but loamy near the surface, has been traced 
along the higher portions of the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Xew Jersey 
to Florida and across the Piedmont to the Blue Eidge. It is characterized 
not only by the bright hues of its loams and clays but by the peculiarly 
irregular and confused arrangement of the materials in many of the 
coarser beds. The formation is high-lying, overlapping the Coastal Plain 
sediments only where they are much above sea-level, and nowhere in Vir- 
ginia reaching tidewater, being cut off seaward or riverward by distinct 
slopes and well-marked scarps. Another peculiarity is a scarcity of fossils. 



aThe name Lafayette was proposed by Hilgard in 1891 from Lafayette County. 
Miss. Amer. Geol. 1891, vol. 8, pp. 129-131. Berry has recently shown that the 
so-called Lafayette of the type section in Lafayette Countv. Miss., is of Eocene age. 
Jour. Geol. 1911, vol. 19,. pp. 249-256. 



22 UXDEBGKOUND WATEB RESOURCES OE COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

the organic remains being plain fragments and impressions of no deter- 
minant' value. This far-spread mantle was first recognized as a distinct 

ogic unit by BicGree and named by him the Appomattox formation. 

The t<»tal extenl of the formation in Virginia has not been determined, 
li covers Little of the tidewater country. Its cobbles and gravels rest on the 
crystalline rocks of the Piedmont, or on the edges of Potomac, Pamunkey, 
or Chesapeake beds. Usually not over 50 feet thick and nowhere filling the 
gorges, the Lat'avette cap.- the higher interstream plateaus. Its base is 
L80 feel above tide at Peach Grove Hill in Fairfax County, and 200 feet 
near Fredericksburg. Whether it actually is present at the type locality 
of McGee's Appomattox Formation, southeast of Petersburg, is uncertain. h 

Along Potomac Kiver north of the great bend the Lafayette is sharply 
interrupted or cut off by the river valley. South of the great bend to 
Petersburg the eastern limit of the formation is less clearly defined, but 
probably nowhere extends far east of the "fall-line." It has been traced 
inland back of Fredericksburg for 10 miles, and has been described by 
Shaler and Wbodworth in the Eichmond coal basin at altitudes of 350 feet. 

Origin. — The probable origin of the Lafayette has caused much dis- 
cussion. Some geologists have called it a marine formation, others have 
said it was formed by streams. Further investigation may show that the 
term Lafayette has been applied to both marine and fluviatile deposits. A 
detailed discussion of the origin lies without the province of this report. 
In Virginia the field relations, varied lithology, heterogeneous assortment of 
materials, and lack <»]' Fo»ils. are evidence in favor of a fluviatile or estua- 
rine rather than a marine origin. 

WATEB M'PPLIES 

The Lafayette gravels are reservoirs of ground water Tor springs and 
dug well-. The supplies they furnish are generally limpid and soft, and in 
some places remarkably low m mineral contenl but, from the limited extenl 
of tht Lafayette in the Coastal Plain, are importani in only a few counties. 



uMcGee, VV. J., Three Formations of the Atlantic slope. Amer. Jour. Sci. 3rd 
L888, vol. 25, pp. i l'ii l 13. 

bThe write] is of the opinion thai the Appomattox formation in the vicinity of 
- described b\ McGee, includes Columbia beds, ami thai the Lafayette 
has n"t been differentiated with exactness there. 

eShaler, V S., and Woodworth, -l. p>.. Geologj <>i the Richmond Basin, Virginia, 
19th Ann. Rept. I . S. Geol. Survey, Pari 2, pp. 385-519. 



PLEISTOCENE. 23 

PLEISTOCENE 

COLUMBIA GROUP 

Character and extent. — Over most of Tidewater Virginia, resting on 
Miocene, Eocene, or Cretaceous deposits, or on the crystalline rocks of the 
Piedmont, lies a mantle of loam, clays, sands, gravels and cobbles; the 
older strata cropping ont on river bluffs, in stream gullies, and on eroded 
divides. Like the Lafayette, this mantle shows a prevailing assortment 
into coarse material at the bottom and fine at the top, and its component 
beds show great differences of color, texture, and arrangement. The clays 
have many hues, from dark gray through yellow or buff to orange and red ; 
the coarse material comprises evenly stratified sands and mixtures of sands, 
cobbles, and boulders that seemed dumped in place. 

The Columbia differs from the Lafayette in several details. While the 
latter mantled an undulating surface, the Columbia partly filled river 
gorges and capped intervening divides. The Lafayette forms a sloping 
plain cut off to the seaward and along river valleys by scarps or graded 
slopes; the Columbia comprises several terraces or terrace plains that slope 
seaward and toward river valleys. Large transported boulders are not found 
in the Lafayette, but are common on the river terraces of the Columbia 
toward the "fall-line." Some of these boulders are seven or eight feet long, 
have polished and striated faces, and have evidently been dropped by ice 
floes. The Columbia loams on the lower terraces are mostly light buff and 
yellow; on the higher terraces, buff and red; but south of James Eiver 
bright-colored loams are not so common as along Potomac Eiver. Even on 
the highest terrace they are often light buff and yellow rather than dark 
buff, orange, and red. 

The landward elevation of the surface of the highest terrace along the 
"fall-line" varies from 300 feet west of Alexandria to about 150 feet south 
of Petersburg. The surface of the lowest terrace is less than 25 feet above 
tide and extends to sea-level in many places. The only fossils found in the 
clays of the higher terrace are plant remains. The lowest terrace contains 
plant remains and marine shells. 

DIVISIONS 

In Maryland, three terraces were distinguished by Shattuek and traced 
across the State. He found that while each terrace sloped seaward and 



f'Sliattiick, G. B., The Pleistocene Problem of the Xorth Atlantic Coastal Plain. 
Amer. Geol., 1901, vol. 28, pp. 87-107; Maryland Geol. Survey, Pliocene and Pleisto- 
cene, 190G, 291 pp. lxxv plates. 



24 QNDEEGEOUND WATEB RESOUECES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

toward river valleys, there was a remarkable uniformity of elevation at 
points on the same terrace many miles apart. The three terraces he named 
in order of age. from high to low, the Sunderland. Wicomico, and Talbot, 
and classified their material- as the Sunderland. Wicomico, and Talbot 
formations. This division of the Columbia he extended into Virginia. 

In North Carolina six terraces with elevations varying from sea-level 
to 200 feet have been described. Stephenson^ discriminates five Pleistocene 
terraces in Xorth Carolina. The names he gives them and the elevations 
above sea-level are as follows, in order of age: Coharie. 1(50 to 220 feet; 
Sunderland, 110 to 160 feet; Wicomico, 60 to 90 feet: Chowan, 30 to 50 
feet ; Pamlico, to 25 feet. The Coharie has not been recognized north of 
North Carolina. The Chowan and Pamlico together correspond to the Tal- 
bol of Maryland and Virginia as described by Shattuck. 

Clark and Miller have recognized and traced three Columbia terrace- 
in the Virginia Coastal Plain and have designated as formations the 
deposits that constitute them, the Sunderland. the Wicomico. and the Talbot. 

The terraces as a whole slope east or southeast, but along the rivers each 
terrace slopes toward the river: on the divides the slope is seaward. Hence 
the elevation of each terrace is least toward the river or the ocean and great- 
est at the foot of the -lope or .-carp which marks the transition to the terrace 
above. 

In general there i- on each terrace a rough assortment of materials from 
coarse al the base, to fine near the surface. The proportion of very coarse 
material, gravel, cobbles and boulders, is greatest near the "fall-line." The 
basal -and- are generally gray in color: the tints of the subsoil loams and 
clays range from dark gray with bluish, brownish or greenish hues, to bright 
red. orange and hull'. 

The thickness of each terrace formation varies from a thin edge near the 
scarp above to a maximum at varying distances riverward or seaward. The 
maximum thickness of the lowest formation is uncertain because in places on 
t he western shore of ( !hesapeake Bay and along the hay side and ocean side of 
the Eastern Shore, a considerable pari of the formation lies below tide-level 
and Its material- have not been definitely distinguished from the Chesapeake 
i Miocene) \n'<\^ on which they presumably rest. 



oJohnson, r>. L., Pleistocene terracing in the North Carolina Coastal Plain. 
Science, 1907, vol. \\\i. pp. 640-642. 

''Stiplicii-i.il. L. W .. ( log} and Underground Water- of the North Carolina 

-i.il Plain, \. <. Geol. Survey. In press. 

lark, \\ . I'... and Miller, B. I... Bull. N<>. iv, Virginia Geol. Survey. 1912, p. 48. 






PLEISTOCEXE. 25 

Sunderland formation. — Maximum elevations of the Sunderland range 
from 300 to 220 feet on divides back of the "fall-line/' to 90 feet at points 
along the rivers farther east. The Sunderland-Wicomico scarp extends 
along a northeast line, that is a line at right angles to the trend of the larger 
river valleys. The materials of the Sunderland terrace, which constitute 
the Sunderland formation, comprise cobble-beds, sands and gravels, bright- 
colored loam and clays, and near the "fall-line^ large boulders. The 
thickness of the formation varies from a feather-edge to a maximum of 
50 feet. 

Wicomico formation. — The AVicomico terrace can be traced at intervals 
along the rivers to the '"fall-line" and around the intervening divides from 
Xorth Carolina to Potomac Eiver. It is widest south of James Eiver 
where it is 10 miles wide. On the divides between York, James, Rappa- 
hannock, and Potomac rivers, this terrace is not as pronounced a topo- 
graphic feature as the terrace below it. The terrace materials comprise 
cobbles, gravel, sand, and bright-colored loams and clays, much like the 
Sunderland. The thickness varies from a feather-edge to about 45 feet. 

Talbot formation. — The Talbot is the youngest and most easily dis- 
tinguished of all the terraces/' It is 30 miles wide at the south and includes 
all of Princess Anne County, most of Xorfolk, nearly all of Elizabeth City 
Count}', the east end of Gloucester County, and practically all of Mathews 
County. Reentrants of this terrace extend up the river valleys. On the 
eastern shore the terrace probably includes all of Xorthampton Count}' and 
most of Accomac County. The Talbot formation is composed of sands, 
gravels, clays and loams, with cobbles and ice-borne boulders along the river 
toward the "fall-line." The fossils comprise cypress stumps and other plant 
remains, and beds of marine or brackish water shells. The thickness of 
the formation ranges from a few feet to fully 40 feet on the western shore 
of the bay. On the eastern shore the thickness may exceed 50 feet. 

The relations of the Columbia terraces and the terrace materials to the 
underlying deposits are shown in Fig. 5, page 52. 

Origin. — "While a marine or estuarine origin for the terrace formations 
has been advocated, the question is still in dispute. The 0-25 foot terrace 
underlain by beds containing marine and brackish water-shells at Xewport 
Xews, east of Xorfolk, and in the Dismal Swamp area, is indisputably 
marine or estuarine. 



oThe writer believes that the Talbot formation in Virginia, as described by 
Shattuck. comprises two formations: in other words, the Chowan and Pamlico 
formations of Xorth Carolina extend into Virginia. 



26 UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



WATEB STPPLIES 

The coarser beds of the several Columbia formations are important 
reservoirs of water in Tidewater Virginia, and are tapped by thousands of 
dug or driven wells. A.s the sands and gravels often rest on relatively im- 
pervious clayey beds of Miocene, Eocene, or Cretaceous age, and are exposed 
along scarps or in stream gullies, they are the source of countless springs. 
On the high terraces the ground water is mostly soft and of low mineral 
content. On the lower area and especially near tidewater it differs greatly; 
in mosl places ii is limpid and soft and excellent for general use; here and 
there so mineralized as to be unfit for many purposes. 

Undifferentiated Columbia Beds 

Extent and character. — Beds of mud, sand. clay, and gravel underlie 
the lowesi Columbia terrace, or the terrace now in process of formation, at 
places in the eastern part of Norfolk, Elizabeth City, Gloucester. Mathews 
and Princess Anne counties, and the whole Eastern Shore. The chief objec- 
tions to including these beds in the Talbot formation are that their indicated 
thickness would make this formation much thicker than any of the older 
Columbia formations, and that there is nothing to show thai all the beds 
accumulated while the Talbot terrace Avas forming. Some may antedate the 
Talbol terracing; some may even be of Pliocene age. In the localities men- 
tioned the beds rest on Chesapeake sands and clays. As they do not outcrop 
hut lie below tide-level they can be differentiated from the Chesapeake bods 
below and the Recent or Columbia hods above only by the study of well 
record- and samples of drillings. A> few samples have been saved the age 
remain- in doubt. 

These undifferentiated beds comprise soft, dark" bluish or greenish and 
bluish-gray sands with rounded and sharply angular grains, and coarse 
gravel. Some of the bed- contain many marine shells, some contain cypress 
stumps or logs. 

The sands in which the shells lie, sparsely scattered or in distinct layers, 
arc medium fine, and. when dry. lighl gray in color; when wet, dark bluish 
or greenish. They apparently form discontinuous hands or lenses of \arv- 
thickness, no single -and bed having been traced far. The sands are 
for the mosl part soft, and offer little resistance to the drill, but locally 
.'.main indurated streaks usually only a few inches thick that the drillers 
term rocks. The bed- axe separated by dark clays of bluish or greenish 
tinge, thai vary in texture from tough and firm clay to sofl mud in which 
the drill of a lighl jel rig will sink five or six feel in as many minutes. 



UNDIFFERENTIATED COLUMBIA BEDS. 27 

The soft clays, those most frequently found, are described by drillers as 
"blue mud'*' or "blue marsh mud." The shell beds, logs and stumps found 
in these beds on the Eastern Shore all lie considerably below tide-level. 
The following list of localities and depths to shell beds nearest surface in 
Accomac and Northampton counties is given for its geologic interest : 

List of localities and depths to shell beds nearest surface in Accomac County. 

Feet Feet 

Accomac 50 Hunting Creek 90 

Belinda 80 \ Mearsville 117 

Bloxom 83 j Hears Wharf 75 

Boggs 104 Mappsville 70 

Cashville 100 Mesongo Creek 115 

Chesconnessex 100 j Mt. Prosperity, near Onancock 60 

Craddocksville 140 j New Church 120 

Hallwood 110 : Pungoteague 110 

Harborton 126 j 

Northampton County: Charlton 63 feet, Upshur Neck 128 feet; 
throughout Northampton County generally, 60 to 90 feet. 

A well near Onancock, sunk 110 feet, is reported by the driller to have 
struck a bed of "beach sand" containing small shells at 65 feet and to have 
been bottomed in shell-rock containing "oyster" and "clam" shells. "Pieces 
of bark and knots of wood" were reported between 60 and 100 feet. 

Another driller, F. A. Merrill, of Onancock, reports striking iu a well 
on Grapeland farm, on Occahonnock Creek, three quarters of a mile from 
Wardstown Post-office, a "stump" 70 feet below surface or 60 feet below 
tide-level. A well at the house of Tully Scott on Masitank Creek, three 
quarters of a mile west of Cashville, according to the owner, went through 
"pieces of wood" at 64 to 68 feet. 

WATER SUPPLIES 

On the Eastern Shore many flowing wells draw on these deep-lying 
Columbia sands. The heads are low and seem to be largely determined 
by local topography. Thus there are few flows along the bay shore near 
Saxis, Belinda, and Marsh Market in Accomac County where the Talbot 
terrace slopes gradually to the expanses of salt marsh that border the 
tidal inlets; the ground, as well drillers say, is "too low." But there are 
many flowing wells on the bay shore farther south, where, as about Onan- 
cock and Harborton, a terrace plain 15 to 20 feet high, often overlooks 
open water. Again there are more flowing wells in Accomac than in North- 



1 \|)i:i;<,i;o( Mi WATEB RESOUBCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

ampton County where the general elevation of the surface is less than to the 
Qorth. 

It is not possible thai the supplies of these Eastern Shore wells could 
have come from across the bay; the beds under the bay contain salt water 
al too greal a depth to permil that. They are fed from ground water that is 
supplied by the rain and snow that fall on the Eastern Shore. The under- 
ground circulation is southward and from the higher land along the axis 
of the peninsula toward the bay and the ocean. The heads of the water in 
particular wells or groups of wells are closely related to the height above 
sea-level of the water table in the vicinity of the wells. Since the water 
beds lie comparatively near surface, are overlain by muds or soft clays and 
extend under tidal inlets, the flowing wells of the Eastern Shore all show 
tidal changes, but the lag is less than that of the deeper wells of the 
western shore. 

No flowing wells thai evidently draw on these sands have been reported 
in Mathews, Norfolk, and Princess Anne counties. 

A.s the deep Columbia beds comprise both clean sands and swamp mucks 
the contained waters vary greatly. Some of the sands yield excellent 
water — clear, soft, and low in mineral content, while other beds yield water- 
that are highly colored, hard, contain iron and have a decided odor of 
sulphuretted hydrogen. 

SUMMAEl OF GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS AND THEIR WATER SUPPLIES. 

The geologic relations of the various Coastal Plain formations, their 
constituenl materials, and their importance as water-bearers are shown in 
the following table: 



/ 



GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS AND THEIR WATER SUPPLIES. 



29 



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30 UNDERGROUND WATEB BESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



WATEB SUPPLIES 



i 1 ) Not important. 

I oarser beds supply ground water to springs and shallow wells: contain 
artesian water on Eastern Shore. 

(3) Coarser beds supply springs and shallow wells. 
I t i Coarser beds supply springs and shallow well-. 

(5) Coarser ]h^\<. supply springs and shallow wells. 

(6) Ground water to springs and shallow wells, artesian water to a few wells. 

(7) Ground water to springs and shallow wells, artesian water to many wells. 

(8) May supply artesian water to a few wells. 

(9) Ground water to springs and shallow wells, artesian water to many wells. 

(10) C round \v;iier to springs and shallow wells, artesian water to many 
wells. 

(11) Ground water to springs and shallow wells north of Pamunkey River; 
artesian water to some wells. 

(12) Artesian water of varying quality to a few deep wells near Chesapeake 
Cay. 

(13) Ground water to springs and shallow wells, artesian water of varying 
quality to a few deep wells. 

i 14 i Ground water to springs and shallow wells, artesian water of varying 
quality to a few wells near the '"fall-line. '* and near Chesapeake Bay. 






UNDERGROUND WATERS 

ORIGIN, OCCURRENCE, AND DISTRIBUTION. 

General statement. — Of the moisture that falls on the land in the form 
of rain and snow, part returns directly to the air by evaporation, part flows 
directly away by streams, and part enters the soil. The total precipitation 
on any region is distributed variously among these destinations, the exact 
amount that goes to any one being determined by factors which interact in 
an extremely complex manner. 

Evaporation. — The proportion of rainfall that returns to the air by 
evaporation from the leaves of plants, before or after reaching the ground, 
or from the surface of the ground itself, varies greatly under different con- 
ditions. The temperature, the wind velocity, the character of the vegetation, 
the nature of the soil, all affect it. Evaporation is less in a cool climate 
with light winds than in a hot climate where fresh winds prevail. It is less 
from sandy than from clayey soils. It is less from fields than from forests. 
Tidewater Virginia has hot summers with liberal precipitation; on the 
other hand the wind velocity is low. Estimated on the basis of measure- 
ments at Washington, D. C, and including the water returned to the air by 
plants, evaporation in the Virginia Coastal Plain amounts to more than 
50 per cent of the rainfall. 

Run-off. — That portion of the rainfall that the streams canw away from 
a given district is the run-off. It includes the over-surface flow and the 
water from seeps and springs; it is determined by measuring the discharge 
of the streams, and is expressed either in inches, like rainfall, or as a per- 
centage of the rainfall. The chief factors controlling run-off are vegetation 
and temperature. This is shown by Hoyt° who finds that while the winter 
run-oft in Vermont is 92 per cent of the rainfall and in Virginia is 63 per 
cent, the summer run-off is practically the same in the two states. Xo de- 
termination of annual run-off in the Virginia Coastal Plain has been made 
but it is probably less than in the Piedmont counties of the State, where it 
is 40 per cent of the rainfall. 

Controlling factors in soil absorption. — The chief factors regulating 
the entrance of water into the ground are the slope of the surface, the rate of 



aHoyt, J. C.j Comparison between rainfall and run-off in the northeastern 
United States. Trans. Amer. Soc. Civ. Eng\, vol. 59, pp. 431-520. 



32 CrXDERGEOUSTD WATEB RESOUBCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

precipitation, the air temperature, and the texture of the soil. On steep 
hillsides much rain water runs off before the soil can take it up; similarly, 
if the raiD Palls in a heavy shower less of it enters the soil than if it falls 
more slowly, because every soil has a certain rate of absorption, and if this 
be exceeded the excess water runs off. A high temperature decreases the 
surface tension of water so thai water passes more readily through the soil 
pores. Sands have much Larger pore spaces than clays, hence sandy soils 
lake up water more rapidly than clayey soils. 

In the Virginia Coastal Plain the conditions favorable to the absorption 
of moisture reach a maximum on flat expanses of terraces with sandy soils 
during gentle rains in warm weather. 

Storage capacity of soils. — The capacity of a soil to absorb water is a 
measure of its porosity. In sands, the evenness of size of the grains and 
their roundness of outline determine the proportion of voids, because if the 
grains are round the total amount of open space is independent of the diam- 
eter of the grains. A clean, evenly sized sand with well-rounded grains will 
absorb water equal to -10 per cent of its bulk; a cubic foot of such sand will 
absorb aboul 10 quarts. Sharp sands that pack closely and sands with 
grains of various sizes absorb less. On the other hand, loams haw propor- 
tionally more pore space and greater absorption capacity. Some determina- 
tions made h\ Kin-" showed thai the percentage of pore space in clayey 
loam- was aboul 1 L.5 per cem. and in sandy soils 30 to 35 per cent. Be- 
cause of the greal predominance of sands and sandy loams in the Virginia 
( loastal Plain, as shown in the table on page 29, it is probably safe to assume 
thai the average absorption capacity of the soils is aboul 35 per cent. 

SOILS AND SOIL SOLUTIONS. 

- tils. The -oil- of the Coastal Plain are derived almost wholly from 
unconsolidated beds of gravel, sand and clay, which in turn represent the 
washed-over debris of pre-existing unconsolidated beds, nv the material 
worn from the hard rocks of the Piedmont Plateau, since the Lafayette 
and Columbia formations Lie blanket-like upon the older beds, and the 
latter are practically nol exposed excepl where the Lafayette or Columbia 
beds have been removed by erosion, as on scarps, valley slopes, or narrow 
stream divides, the older \»'<\- are of Less importance in the formation of 
soils. On the other hand the more or less weathered surf aces of the several 
Columbia formations form the cultivated soil of fully three-fourths of the 
1 stal Plain area. 



"Kiii-j. I-'. II.. Nineteenth \im. Report, U. S. Geo]. Survey, pt. ii. 1897-98, pp. 
213 21 l. ' 



SOILS AND SOIL SOLUTIONS. 33 

On the basis of origin, soils may be divided into two classes, residual 
and transported. A residual soil represents what is left from the decay of 
rocks, and rests where it formed. A transported soil is composed of material 
that has been moved by water, ice or wind. Eesidual soils characterize the 
Piedmont Plateau, transported soils the Coastal Plain. In the latter 
province the great agent of transportation has been water. There has been 
movement as dust but not enough to be of much importance in soil forma- 
tion. There are accumulations of wind-moved sands, or dunes, back of some 
Chesapeake Bay or ocean beaches, notably at Cape Henry, but these are 
of little or no agricultural value. The water-moved rock particles were 
variously transported, some by streams and some by the waves and currents 
of the ocean or tidal inlets; they were deposited along river bottoms or on 
flood plains, in swamps or shallow bays, or in the ocean. Thus the finest of 
silts and the coarsest of gravel were laid down simultaneously in the forma- 
tion of any one of the Columbia terraces. The terraces have been variously 
eroded since elevation above sea-level. Certain areas in all the terraces have 
been better drained than others, and the rate of decay of the soil particles 
has therefore not been the same. In consequence of original differences in 
mode of deposition and in material, and of subsequent differences in erosion 
and weathering, the soils vary decidedly within short distances and show 
very complex relationships. 

Soils may be classified not only by origin but by topographic features, 
depth, suitability— for certain purposes, and by physical characteristics. 
The latter are the most obvious guides. They comprise texture, as shown by 
the proportion of mineral particles of different sizes, structure (the manner 
of arrangement of the particles), and color. These physical properties form 
the basis of soil classification adopted by the II. S. Bureau of Soils, but 
other factors are considered. A soil class is based on texture, as shown by 
a mechanical analysis. Soils of different classes that are evidently related 
in origin, topographic position, and color, constitute a soil series. The 
structure and color determine with what series a soil can be correlated. 
The unit of a soil series is the soil type and the type is established by con- 
sidering the physical properties and all other determinable factors that have 
to do with the relations of soils to crops. 

In the Coastal Plain of Virginia the U. S. Bureau of Soils has mapped 
about 940,000 acres, and has discriminated 24 soil types in this acreage. 
The areas occupied by these types are shown in the following table compiled 
from figures published in 1909. a The areas cover parts of Chesterfield and 



aWhitney, Milton, Soils of the United States, U. S. Bureau of Soils. Bull. 55. 
1909, p. 233. 



:;i 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Hanover counties, all of Norfolk, Princess Anne and Warwick counties, 
and most of York and .lames City counties. 

Area of soils surveyed in the Virginia Coastal Plain. 



Name 


Area of types 
in series 


Total for series 
and types 


Per cent, 
of total 




A errs 


. 1 errs 


C( >;) si a 1 beach 




12.376 
34.304 
95.6S0 
14,656 
43,584 

514.624 

139.520 

67.072 

17,664 


1.3 


Chesterfield gravelly sandy loam.... 
Klkton fine sandv loam 




3 6 




10 2 




1 .6 


Leonardtown loam 


1.344 

4.288 

11,200 

20,864 

214,976 

230,272 

23,872 

5,952 

1,856 

2.048 
50,048 
29.760 
55.488 

2,176 


4.7 


Norfolk gravelly loam 




coarso sandv loam 

sand 

fine sand 

sandv loam 




fine sandv loam 




loam 




-ilt loam 




elay loam 


54 8 


I'niM smoul li sand 

sand\ loam 




fine sandv loam 

silt loam 




clav loam 


14 8 






Swamp, tidal swamp and marsh 

Wickham sand 


4,416 

5.120 

5.952 
2,176 


7.1 


Bandy loam 




loam 




clav loam 


1 .9 






Total number of acres mapped 




939. S40 





'idio table brings out the relatively small extent of many of the soils, 
tin- predominance of two series, and the proportionally great extent of two 
types, the Norfolk sandy loam and the Norfolk fine sandy loam, which 
together occupy over 11 per cenl of the area mapped. A survey of all the 
Virginia Coastal Plain might show soil types not as yet recognized there, 
ami would change the present rank of some of the types, hut would not 
alter the rank of the Norfolk series nor of its two predominating types— 
chiefly because these types occupy areas on both high and low terraces, 
whereas the topographic distribution of the other types as a rule is more 

1' -I ricted. 

I'm- a description of the -oils named in the preceding table and their 
suitability for particular crops the reader is referred to the government 
bulletins from which the tables were compiled. The Norfolk soil series is 



/ 



SOILS AXD SOIL SOLUTIONS. 



35 



described as consisting of light-colored sandy soils underlain by yellow or 
orange sand or sandy subsoils, while the Portsmouth is characterized by 
dark gray to black surface soils underlain by yellow, gray or mottled yellow 
and gray subsoils. 

As has been stated, the texture of a soil is determined by the proportion 
of the different sized mineral particles in it that are found by mechanical 
analysis. The U. S. Bureau of Soils recognizes seven grades, the limits of 
which are arbitrarily fixed. The texture of the Xorfolk soil series is shown 
by the following table : 

Textures of Norfolk soils.® 





— > 


—* 


*—. 


, — . 


.— -— 












* 1 




san( 
mm. 


o 

o -- 


Clay 

( . 005 mm. or 
less) . 


Name 


Fine grav 

(2-1 


Coarse sa 
( 1-0 . 5 


Medium i 
( . 5-0 . 25 


Fine sa 
(0.25-0.1 


Very fine 
( . 1-0 . 05 


Silt 
(0.05-0. 
mm. 




Per cent 


Per cen t 


Per cent 


Per cent 


Per cent 


Per cent 


Per cent 


Norfolk gravelly loam .... 
















soil 


5 


13 


12 


17 


18 


25 


9 


subsoil 


3 


9 


11 


14 


18 


27 


17 


Norfolk coarse sandy loam 
















soil 


9 


24 


14 


10 


10 


22 


9 


subsoil 


11 


38 


20 


11 


4 


9 


5 


Norfolk sand 


o 
O 


15 


22 


38 


10 


8 




soil 


4 


subsoil 


3 


16 


21 


37 


9 


8 


5 


Norfolk fine sand 
















soil 





3 


10 


56 


14 


u 


5 


subsoil 





2 


9 


53 


16 


14 


5 


Norfolk sandv loam 
















soil 


4 


5 


14 


31 


18 


11 


7 


subsoil 


1 


12 


10 


22 


12 


12 


26 


Norfolk fine sandy loam . . . 
















soil 


1 


3 


5 


38 


24 


22 


8 


subsoil 


1 


3 


4 


20 


17 


21 


24 


Norfolk loam 


1 


6 


9 


24 


17 


30 




soil 


11 


subsoil 


1 


6 


9 


20 


15 


29 


19 


Norfolk silt loam ....... 
















soil 


1 


3 


4 


10 


14 


54 


12 


subsoi 1 





3 


4 


9 


13 


51 


19 


















soii 


1 


3 


8 


23 


7 


34 


23 


subsoil 





4 


6 


18 


7 


32 


33 



«U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Bureau of Soils, Soil Survey Field Book, 1906, pp. 47-54. 



36 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Soil solutions. — The solubility of the mineral compounds in the soil, 
under local conditions of rainfall, temperature and drainage, and the chemi- 
cal reactions which take place in the underground circulation determine 
the quality of the ground water. The Coastal Plain soils, deep as well as 
surficial deposits being included under this term, comprise sands, loams, 
clays, shell beds, and beds full of glauconite. The sand grains are composed 
chiefly of silica, but in some formations many sand grains are made up 
of compounds of silica, alumina, iron, lime, potash, and soda. The ease 
with which these compounds are dissolved is determined not only by the 
solubility of the compounds but by the fineness of the soil particles, hence 
the quality of the ground water, that is, the kind and degree of its minerali- 
zation, varies decidedly from place to place. 

In general the reason for the variations is easily recognized ; lime carbon- 
ate is readily dissolved, hence shell beds contain limy, or "hard," water. Many 
iron compounds dissolve without difficulty, and iron-bearing solutions pre- 
cipitate iron on exposure to air or by mingling with oxygen-bearing waters. 
Thus along the western edge of the Coastal Plain the loams that contain 
grains of iron sulphide worn from the Piedmont rocks are the source of 
"iron" and "alum" and "sulphur" springs and seeps; beds of bog-iron 
form where such waters accumulate on the surface, and iron crusts and 
bands grow along the underground water courses. Hydrogen sulphide, 
the compound which gives so many Coastal Plain waters a "swampy" or 
"marshy" odor, is derived not only from the dissolving of iron sulphide but 
from compounds found in the organic matter contained in many Coastal 
Plain beds; it may also come from reaction between sulphate of lime, a com- 
mon constituent of soils, and other compounds. 

Although as above indicated the mineralization of a particular water 
may be from causes easily recognized or self-evident, the quality of another 
water may be due to reactions that cannot be definitely traced, or to long-past 
events in the geologic history of the region. Instances of these differences 
are the high percentage of bicarbonate of soda in many Coastal Plain waters 
and the saltness of others; in the one case we have to deal with a matter 
1 if tie understood, the selective interactions between certain mineral solu- 
tions underground ; in the other with sea water which was originally in the 
beds or reached them after deposition. 






GROUND WATER 

Definition of ground water. — Of the water that enters the soil some is 
returned to the air through the capillary action of the soil particles and 
evaporation, some is absorbed by plant roots, stored in tissues, and ulti- 
mately returned by plant decay, or is given back to the air by transpiration 
from foliage; a little is taken up by the hydration or weathering of rock 
particles in the soil, and some reaches the ground water. By ground water 
is meant the water beneath the surface at any given point ; its lateral extent 
and depth below surface are determined by several factors. Its lower limit 
may be at dense, impervious beds or there may be no sharp lower limit, the 
water filling Grevices in rocks to an indefinite depth. 

Water table. — The upper surface of the ground water is called the water 
table ; it marks the water level in wells. Its depth below ground depends on 
topography, geology, and climate. In general the water table rises under 
hills and falls toward valleys. Under a level plain with soil of uniform tex- 
ture, bounded by descents to lower ground, the convexity of the water table 
as a whole depends priinariry on the texture of the soil and the difference in 
elevation between the plain and the lower ground. But the water table 
slope is modified by differences in soil texture, in the character and position 
of underlying rocks, in surface slope and in vegetation. It lies nearer the 
surface in fine textured soils than in coarse, and nearer under tilled fields 
than under forests. Where the water table cuts the surface of the slope there 
are seeps and springs ; where confined hollows descend below the water table 
there are ponds. Under a flat expanse on a high terrace the water table 
may be at the surface, whereas near the scarp of that terrace it may be 50 
feet below the surface of the ground. 

Fluctuations of water table. — The water table rises after wet weather 
and falls after droughts, but these changes are not sudden. It takes a sensi- 
ble period for the soil to absorb and transmit rainfall, so the water in wells 
may be low during a rainy period, in consequence of preceding drought, and 
may remain high long after rains have ceased. The seasonal differences in 
the height of the water table are the result of accumulative differences in the 
proportion of rainfall that reaches the ground, so that the period of lowest or 
highest ground water lags after the period of most or least rainfall, subject 
to superimposed modifications from evaporation and the growth of vege- 
tation. 



:>> UNDEBGEOUND WATEB RESOUECES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

In Virginia the ground water is highest in the spring and lowest in the 
fall. These fluctuations are greater away from ravines and scarps than 
near them, because the water under a level stretch remote from an)' point 
of emergence moves very slowly and a rise in the water table of several 
feet increases the general slope toward the point of emergence but slightly, 
whereas near a scarp the water can run away so fast that the water table rises 
very little. 

I n->i(K > being affected by the seasonal differences in rainfall, the water 
table is affected by other factors. Fluctuations in atmospheric pressure are 
among these. A rise of one inch shown by the barometer means an increase 
in air pressure equal to a foot of water. This load transmitted underground 
by wells can depress the well water by forcing it back into the sand and 
locally raising the water table. In the course of the field work for this report 
one instance of a dug well showing the effect of changes in air pressure 
was noted. This well, 2(1 feet deep, is near Potomac Mills, in Westmoreland 
County. The normal depth of the water in dry weather is about 2 feet. 
When the wind during such weather blows from the northwest, that is when 
the barometer is high, and the atmospheric pressure is heavier than the 
average, the level of the water in the well falls. With wind from the south- 
east, that is when atmospheric pressure is less, the water rises. 

In very -hallow wells changes in air temperature affect the surface ten- 
sion of water. Cold increases the surface tension, hence if some of the 
ground water is Dear enough to surface (within a few feet) to feel the 
change, it rises into the partly saturated soil above the water table under 
the capillary attraction of the soil particles, thus lowering the level of the 
water in wells. 

Change of level, Awe to natural or artificial causes, in nearby bodies of 
surface water- rivers, lake.-, or t he sea may affect t he water table decidedly. 
Where there is communication between such a body of water and nearby 
ground water, either through rock crevices or the pores between sand grains, 
a rise of the surface water raises the water table, either by direct transmis- 
sion or by backing up the outward flowing ground water. Along Chesapeake 
Bay many shallow wells show tidal changes. These changes are not instan- 
taneous since transmission through sands implies time, and along tidal 
bodies of water high water in a well occurs after high tide. 'The time 
difference or lag is governed by distance from shoreline and ease of commu- 
nication below ground. It may amount to several hours. 

/'■ rched ground water. Some accumulations of ground water are purely 
local. A sheet of clay may separate saturated sands from i\v\ sands below, 






GROUND WATER. 39 

resulting in what is known as perched ground water. Such a condition may 
be found at many places in Tidewater Virginia, and is especially noticeable 
after prolonged wet weather. Boring a hole through the clay draws off the 
perched water. In this way some ponds or swamps may be drained. 

Circulation of ground water. — Two factors, gravity and capillarity, con- 
trol the movement of underground water. Downward percolation, as the 
drainage of a soil after a rain, is largely due to gravity and takes place 
chiefly through the larger openings in the soil. On the other hand the water 
evaporated from a soil is supplied from below either by the capillary move- 
ment through the finer openings or by the creeping of thin films of water 
around the soil particles. Gravity and capillarity act together where the 
movement is downward or are opposed when the movement is upward. They 
combine to bring water to the surface on a slope. 

The texture of the soil determines the relative efficiency of «the two fac- 
tors, because the soil openings are many times larger in coarse sands than in 
silts or clays. Practically, the water returned to the air by plants as well as 
that evaporated from the surface of the soil is supplied by capillary action, 
whereas the water of springs and wells is supplied by gravity. The relative 
importance of gravity and capillarity in the movement of ground water is 
nearly equal, the proportion of the rainfall that ultimately reaches the sur- 
face again under capillary action, being little less than the proportion of 
gravitational or drainage water returned by springs. 

The movement of gravitational water toward some point of escape is 
modified by differences in soil texture, the position and character of the rocks 
below the soil, and the slope of the surface. By reason of the variety of 
factors the course of a drop of water toward some spring may be changed 
from a straight line many times. 

In granites and other dense igneous rocks, circulation is by joint cracks 
of which there are usually three systems, one parallel to the surface, the 
other two steeply inclined. In stratified rocks, circulation is of two orders. 
In sandstones and conglomerates there may be both direct movement along 
the bedding through openings between constituent grains, and cross circula- 
tion through joint cracks. In shales, circulation is practically limited to 
joint cracks and bedding planes. In limestone, as the rock is readily dis- 
solved, openings of considerable size may grow along bedding planes or cross 
fissures and may become large enough to take the entire volume of small 
rivers. The freedom of movement through sandstones and conglomerates 
is seldom comparable to that through sands and gravels, because of many 
original voids being closed by the cement that binds the grains and pebbles. 



40 QNDEKGEOUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Rate of in on- in i' nt of underground water.— In fine sands with rounded 
grains the openings between the grains are of capillary size, and the 
frictional resistance to the movement of water is great; in sharp sands 
thai pack closely the resistance is still greater. In coarse sands the voids 
arc many times larger than in fine sands and the water can move with much 
more freedom. Ease of transmission through a soil thus depends on the size, 
shape and evenness of assortment of the soil particles, there being all grada- 
tions between coarse gravel and clay. A coarse sand transmits water 100 
times as freely as a fine sand. A clay absorbs water but its transmission 
capacity is practically zero. 

In discussing the capacity of soils to transmit water, Schlichter a says: 

If the particles of sand or gravel which make up the water-bearing medium are 
well rounded in form, the pores are somewhat triangular in cross section and the 
diameter of the individual pores is only one-fourth to one-seventh the diameter of 
the soil particles themselves. Thus if the individual grains of sand average one 
millimeter in diameter the pores through which the water must pass will average 
only one-fourth to one-seventh of a millimeter in diameter. If to a mass of nearly 
uniform sand particles larger particles be added the effect on the resistance to the 
flow of water will be one of two kinds, depending principally upon the ratio which 
the size of the particles added bears to the average size of grains in the original 
sand. If the particles added are only slightly larger than the original sand grain 
the effect is to increase the capacity of the sand to transmit water, and the more 
particles of this kind are added the greater will be the menace in the capacity of 
the sand to transmit water. If, however, larger particles are added the effect is the 
reverse. If particles seven to ten times the diameter of the original sand grains 
be added, each of the new particles tends to block the passage of the water. 
Thus, for example, a large boulder placed in a mass of fine sand will tend to block 
the passage of the water. As more and more of the large particles are added to a 
mass of uniform sand, the rate of flow of water through it will be decreased until 
the amount of the large particles equals about 30 per cent, of the total mass. From 
llii- time on the adding of the large particles will increase the capacity of the whole 
to transmit water until, if a very large quantity of the large particles be added, so 
that the original mass of fine particles becomes relatively negligible, the capacity to 
transmit will approach that of the mass of the large particles alone. These facts 
have an important bearing upon the capacity of gravels to furnish water to wells or 
to transmit water in the underflow of a river. The presence of large particles is not 
necessarily to be interpreted as indicating a high transmission capacity of the 
material, for this is indicated only when the large particles constitute a large 
fractional per cent of the total mass, as would be the case where the large particles 
equal 40 or 50 per cent of the whole. 

The rate at which water moves underground is controlled l).v the resist- 
ance of the soil openings and by the slope or difference in height between two 
given points in ii> course. Through such mixtures of sand, gravel and 
boulders in nearly tlat beds as lie in the terraces of the Virginia Coastal 
Plain, the rate is to he measured by feet a day rather than by miles a day, 
a- in a Burface stream. On the south short 1 of Long Island are Coastal Plain 



oSchlichter, C. S., Field measurements of the rate of movement of underground 
waters, t . s. Qeol. Survey, Water Supply Paper No. 140. 1005. p. 10. 






GROUND WATER. 41 

beds resembling in texture and inclination some of those underlying terraces 
in Virginia. Velocities have been measured there that range from 15 inches 
to 12 feet a day. a 

Underground lakes and rivers. — The belief held by many persons that 
underground waters in places outside of limestone regions lie in lakes or 
move as rivers, has little foundation in fact. The lakes and streams reported 
by well drillers are merely beds of saturated sand. The rivers described with 
great particularity by some water finders often are pure fiction, the stated 
course of an underground river having no relation whatever to the geology 
of the district. 

Ground water temperature. — Soils absorb and radiate heat readily but 
transmit it slowly, so that daily temperature fluctuations are felt only a 
very few feet underground ; even the changes from summer to winter become 
imperceptible at less than 100 feet, and the unvarying temperature there 
corresponds very closely to that of the mean annual temperature of the par- 
ticular locality. Several factors combine to determine the distance below 
surface of this zone of unvarying temperature. In Tidewater Virginia it 
apparently lies at about 60 feet. Thus the temperature of shallow wells 
or springs varies seasonably, that of deep wells is constant. At depths of 20 
to 40 feet, depths equal to those of the average dug well in the Tidewater 
region, the cumulative results of the winter's cold -and the summer's warmth 
are minimum temperature in the spring and maximum temperature in the 
fall, but the difference between maximum and minimum is slight. In shal- 
low, open wells the temperature of the water may be modified by heat taken 
from or given to the air, and changed decidedly by the entrance of water 
from near the surface after heavy rains, but allowing for these contingencies, 
there is no ground for the belief of many a well-owner that the water from 
his well is cold in summer and warm in winter; a thermometer will show 
him his error. 

Chemical composition of ground water. — Eain that falls at the end of a 
shower is practically pure water. In passing through the soil the rain- 
water takes up carbon dioxide gas and also various salts. It attacks and 
slowly breaks down the resistant particles of the hardest rocks, reduces 
dense granite to grains of quartz and particles of clay, and completely dis- 
solves beds of shells. 

The chemical composition of the ground water at any point is deter- 
mined by the rainfall, the drainage, the climate, and the composition of the 



aSchlichter, C. S., Op. cit. p. 67. 



12 UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOUECES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

soil. Where precipitation is as abundant as in Tidewater Virginia and 

underground circulation is active, the soil at a certain point may be leached 
of easily soluble compounds in a time geologically brief; the ground water 
will thereafter have little solid matter in solution and will be soft and 
limpid. On the other hand, if the circulation is difficult the leaching will 
be less, and the mineralization of the water will persist for a longer period. 

The soils of the higher terraces of the Coastal Plain of Virginia usually 
contain near scarps waters of extremely low mineral content; on the lower 
terraces the waters in places carry considerable iron or lime; on the lowest 
terrace, near the hay. where broad expanses of ground are covered by salt 
water during high spring tides, the ground water in places is distinctly 
brackish. 

Few complete analyses of waters from dug wells are available, and the 
field assays presented in table 7 do not show the wide variety in quality of 
the waters. The analyses of spring waters (table 7) show the low miner- 
alization of the waters from the sands of the high terraces. 

Normal chlorine. — Chlorine, a constituent of common salt, is found in 
all surface and underground waters. It is derived from the sea as salt spray 
borne inland with dust particles by the wind and precipitated in rains, from 
the -oil minerals, and from organic wastes. Hence the chlorine content of 
surface waters, other conditions not being considered, is greatest near the 
seashore and diminishes inland. The spring waters in table 7 show as a 
rule this chlorine decrease. In a given region the proportion of chlorine in 
the surface water- derived from soil minerals and from the sea is called the 
normal chlorine content of the waters. Any increase above the norma] rep- 
resents drainage from habitations, since the density of population on a given 
aren has a direct bearing on the proportion of chlorine contained in the 
water flowing from that area. Hence, chlorine above normal in a surface 
water i- taken as evidence that the water is or has been polluted. 

Owing to variations in freedom of circulation and the composition of the 
-oil. the normal chlorine content of the underground waters of a given 
region varies within wide limits, and a chlorine content above the normal 
of the surface waters does not uecessarily denote pollution. A notable 
chlorine content in the waters from springs and shallow wells on high 
ground may indicate that the waters have been polluted, hut many shallow 
well- near seashore t;ip waters that are normally brackish. High chlorine 
in the waters from a deep-drilled well is not uecessarily evidence of pollu- 
tion. In the water from a pumped well it may or may not he suspicious. 
Increase of chlorine in wells near the Bea is not uncommon under heavy 
pumping. 



GROUND WATER. V-l 

Pollution of ground water. — Decaying organic matter carried in solution 
from the surface to the ground-water zone may make the water of wells or 
springs in the vicinity highly colored and offensive. Such discolored, ill- 
smelling water is rightfully viewed with suspicion, but a water that is clear, 
colorless or odorless may be much more dangerous. The menace to health 
is not the organic compounds in the water, but the microscopically small 
bacteria that cause specific diseases. These pathogenic germs may or may 
not be found in clear, refreshing spring waters having a local reputation for 
healthfulness or for curative properties. 

A sanitary analysis of a ground water shows the proportion of com- 
pounds presumably of organic origin — nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia — and 
the proportion of chlorine. The proportion of organic compounds and 
of chlorine is taken to indicate the probable sanitary quality of the water. 
The value of such an analysis is disputed by many chemists. a In Tidewater 
Virginia the almost universal use of wood-curbing in dug wells, the practice 
of dosing such wells with lime and salt after cleaning, and the large varia- 
tions in chlorine content of the ground water at places on the shores of inlets, 
combine to make the value of a sanitary analysis even more doubtful than 
for surface waters unless the chemist knows the local conditions. A bacte- 
rial examination of a suspicious water ma}^ be decisive, but in most cases 
no examination or analysis of a water is necessary to show its doubtful 
purity. A glance at the well surroundings, the nearby privy, pig-pen or slop- 
hole, or the leaky curbing that permits any kind of filth to be washed in at 
every rain, will suffice to show why the well water is to be regarded with 
suspicion. 

Areal extent of pollution. — In sedimentary deposits like those of the 
Virginia Coastal Plain, the decaying organic matter and the disease-spread- 
ing bacteria that reach the ground water are carried along its upper surface 
toward the nearest point of escape. The distance they may travel before 
they are destroyed by filtration and oxidation depends on the rate of move- 
ment of the water table and the fineness of the sands. Some recent experi- 
ments in Germany 6 showed that heavy pumping could make bacteria from 
a polluted well 177 feet deep pass through 60 feet of sand and gravel 
(porosity 32 per cent) to an unpolluted well of equal depth in nine days; 
whereas if the bacteria were forced into the soil above ground water-level 
no pollution could be detected after prolonged pumping. 



aLeighton, M. 0., The futility of a sanitary water analysis as a test of potability: 
Biological studies by the pupils of Wm. Thompson S"edgwick, Boston. 100(1. pp. 
36-53. 

^Experiments on the passage of bacteria through soil. Engineering Record. 1909, 
Nov. 4, vol. 60. 



44 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Where, as on many terraces of the Coastal Plain, coarse sand and gravel 
or shell marls underlie a few feet of surface loam, and the water moves with 
comparative freedom toward springs that flow from the terraces, conditions 
are particularly favorable to the spread of pollution underground. Any 
shallow well or any spring in the village may come under suspicion. 
Where waters from a possible source of pollution must pass through 10 feet 
or more of loam and sand to reach the ground-water zone the danger is 
lessened, but in general the radius of safety between well and source of pol- 
lution is not less than 100 feet. A dug well and a vault privy within the 
limits of the average 25-foot building lot favor a quick transfer of water 
from the well to the house and back to the well, but a more unsanitary ar- 
rangement can hardly be devised. 

EMERGENCE OF GROUND WATER. 

Seeps. — A large proportion of the ground water is returned to the sur- 
face or escapes below water level by seepage. Seeps make wet and boggy 
spots on slopes or at the base of scarps, and supply imperceptibly much 
ground water to bodies of surface water. Seeps differ from springs in size 
and localization of flow. Springs mark the escape of ground water moving 
in a definite passage through the open-textured portions of a porous bed or 
along crevices and solution passages in hard rocks. In other words, a spring 
is seepage water emerging in sufficient volume at one point to form a rill. 
Xo sharp dividing line separates seeps and springs; the gradation in 
volume and localization of flow is gradual. Many so-called springs in 
Tidewater Virginia are basins or shallow wells fed by seeps. 

Springs. — Speaking of the tidewater country in general, Hugh Jones, a 
an Englishman who visited Virginia early in the eighteenth century, said : 
"good springs abound everywhere almost. 7 ' This statement holds true. 
Because of the liberal rainfall, the bedding of the Lafayette and Columbia 
sands, the manner in which pervious overlie less pervious deposits, and the 
in a n v places at which the water table is exposed on bluffs and slopes or in 
gullies, springs of excellent water abound in most of the Coastal Plain 
counties. They are most numerous in the counties near the "fall-line." 
There are few where the surface is low and little eroded, as in Norfolk, 
Princess Anne. Mathews, Accomac and Northampton counties. 

Because of its composition, extent, position, and great dissection, the 
Sunderland formation is the source of a majority of the springs. 

"Tones, Hugh, The present state of Virginia, London. 1724; reprint, New York, 
1805, p. 57. 



EMERGENCE OE GROUND WATER. 



45 



TYPES OF COASTAL PLAIN SPRINGS. 

volumes are small. In places wne e ^^ ^ ^ 

impervious stratum, a bed of clay, a ban ol ^ 

from a ri er :s fl r:: islihl 3 *« i aw 

springs ot good size now xxu ^ termed normal, 

/ ^ c-nrinp-s are distinguishable, lney may oe leimeu 
Sid ^ artesln or boLg springs, and tbeir charaetenst.es are 

shown in Fig. 3. 




y_mp ervious^beds 

cu 







h 




\\U\ry<\[ : '''::':^ 



Fi2 3 -Diagrams illustrating types of Coastal Plain springs. 
g ' ft) Perched spring, (c) Artes.an spring. 



(a) Normal spring. 



16 UNDEBGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Normal springs. — Springs of the normal type are those that issue where 
the water table is exposed at ground-level. They are found in hollows on 
terraces along the bases of scarps, and on low terraces. Hence they are 
common to all parts of the Coastal Plain and flow from all the formations 
exposed. Many are of shallow source and go dry every year. 

Perched springs. — This name has been proposed by Matson a for springs 
from perched ground-water, those that issue from above some impervious 
layer exposed in a stream gully or terrace scarp. The point of emergence 
may he 100 feet or more above the foot of the bluff, or the point at which 
the top of the main ground water supplies springs of the normal type. 
Perched springs are characteristic of that part of the Virginia Coastal Plain 
having topography of the western shore type — interstream divides sharply 
cut by Y-shaped valleys of creeks, high scarps facing rivers — this area 
lying between Potomac Eiver and the divide separating the Chesapeake 
from the Chowan drainage. Thousands of them issue from the base of the 
Columbia formations above sandy clays of the Chesapeake and Pamunkey 
groups. 

Artesian springs. — While the waters usually seep or flow from a slope, 
the face of a bluff or the side of a gully, in places there are springs that 
are slightly artesian, the waters rising with force enough to lift sand grains 
in the spring basin. Such are known as boiling springs. As a rule the im- 
previous layer from under which the waters rise is less than 10 feet below 
the spring basin and at some springs is covered only by a thin wash of sand. 
In places the source is deeper. 

SOURCES OF SPRING WATERS 

Iii general the springs are fed by the rainfall on the particular terrace 
from under which they flow. As the terraces are cut up by stream valleys 
and the ground water takes the easiest course to its point of escape, in the 
majority of cases the water does not travel more than a mile or two under- 
ground, and in many places springs of some size flow from a narrow rem- 
ii;mt of a Columbia terrace capping a divide, where the gathering area is 
less than a quarter of a mile wide. 

The temperature of the spring waters shows that the springs are fed by 
the ground water of the terrace rather than from deep sources. Most "cold" 
springs have a temperature of about 58 to 60 degrees, or the mean annual 
temperature of the region. These "cold" springs flow from beds buried 50 



oMatson, <;. ('.. Water Resources of the Blue-grass "Region. Kentucky, Water 
Supply Paper, I". S. Geol. Survey. No. 223. 1009. |). 40. 



PERMANENCE OF FLOW. 47 

feet or more. Springs which show higher temperatures than the annual 
mean do not have this temperature the year round. The water gets warmer 
in summer because of the shallow cover of the source. No spring in Tide- 
water Virginia, so far as known, has throughout the year a temperature 
above normal, as have the deep flowing wells, and evidently no spring freely 
rises from a depth of several hundred feet. Those that are coldest in the fall 
have the deepest source, and this source is not deep enough to show the in- 
crease of temperature due to depth. 

PERMANENCE OF FLOW 

Many springs in the Coastal Plain fail in every dry summer. Many 
yield less water after several months of drought, and many show slight dif- 
ference in volume. These differences represent differences in the magnitude 
of the fluctuations of the water table. 

Near the edges of high terraces wells go deep for water, and the height 
of the water in the wells changes but little during the year ; springs flowing 
from the scarps of these terraces have much more uniform flow than those 
in hollows on terraces away from scarps, where wells are shallow and are 
full in the spring and dry in the fall. Still there are springs having imme- 
diate shallow sources that flow the year through with little reported change 
in volume. Some such springs evidently are supplied by water that comes 
through a confined channel so small in proportion to its length that fluctua- 
tions of ground water level are minimized. Springs flowing from crevices 
in granite in hollows of high terraces are of this class, other springs which 
show little change in volume though having apparently shallow covers are 
fed by the water that comes from under a terrace above the one that seems 
to supply them. 

PURITY OF SUPPLY. 

Pollution of spring sources. — As most of the Coastal Plain springs flow 
from sandy beds covered by loams, surface wafers undergo filtration in 
reaching the ground-water zone and in traveling to the point of emergence. 
Hence as a rule the springs of the Coastal Plain, if properly developed, are 
not likely to be the source of disease. On the other hand, where cities or 
villages stand on terraces having a thin cover of loams and coarse sands 
below, the ground water is easily contaminated by leakage from cesspools 
or sewers, or the impurities washed into dug wells, and springs flowing 
from the scarps of such terraces may be altogether unsafe no matter how 
clear, sparkling and refreshing their waters are. 



-J 8 QNDEBGEOUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

Quality of spring waters. — The quality of the spring waters varies widely. 
A- a rule the waters from the Columbia sands of the higher terraces are soft, 
contain litlle iron, and are suited for all domestic purposes. Springs from 
the lower terraces show greater differences. Many "marl springs" that flow 
from shell-marl beds in the Pamunkey or Chesapeake group, yield hard 
water. ITere and there, particularly along the western edge of the Coastal 
Plain, are small springs whose waters contain sulphates of iron and alumina. 

The analyses in table 6 show the characteristic differences in mineraliza- 
tion of the springs flowing from sands, from granite, and from marl, and 
the modifications resulting from topographic position. The granite, and the 
sand and gravel springs of Alexandria and Chesterfield counties contain less 
than 100 parts per 1,000,000 of total solids, and many are extremely soft, 
some containing less than 1 part per 1,000,000 of calcium. They arc also 
low in chlorine. Evidently the sources of mineralization of the granite and 
the slightly mineralized sand springs are approximately the same, being 
derived from well-leached or relatively insoluble soils. On the other hand, 
the marl springs and the springs in low terraces near Chesapeake Bay 
show as a rule more total solids, more lime, and more chlorine. The most 
heavily mineralized waters in the table are those from two marl springs, 
one in Surry County and one in Sussex County. 

DEEP AND ARTESIAN WATERS. 

/ // at- 1 ion of ground water. — The greater part of the ground water in 
Tidewater Virginia does not rest on a clearly defined impervious floor, but 
lies above more or less pervious rock or unconsolidated material and there 
is no sharp line of demarcation between the ground water and what may be 
called, for convenience, deep or artesian water. Where, as in the Piedmont 
province, there is a mantle of rotted rock and residual soil, or where, as in 
i lie Coastal Phi in, there are blanket-like formations of unconsolidated mate- 
ria^ il is often convenient to take the top of solid rock or of beds older than 
those lying at the surface as the base of the ground-water zone and to regard 
the surface material as constituting a greal Bponge, its function being to ab- 
Borb and -tore precipitation and slowly feed ground water to crevices and 
porous beds in the underlying formations. 

Deep circulation.- Circulation below, as in the ground-water zone, is 
determined chiefly by gravity, but although in a general way influenced by 
topography, it is closely controlled by geologic structure. The porosity of 
the beds, their dip, the size and extent of crack- or fissures, are more im- 



DEEP AXD ARTESIAX WATERS. 49 

portant than topographic differences. So while the ground water flows 
down a valley, the deep water may move in a direction at right angles to 
the valley's trend. 

The deep circulation may extend to far greater depth at one place than 
at another. Thus, where porous beds are steeply inclined or the continuity 
of rock masses is broken by profound fissures, water may circulate thousands 
of feet below the surface. On the other hand, where thick flat beds of shale 
lie near the surface there may be little or no deep water, as in certain 
regions of Pennsylvania and adjacent states. 

While primarily governed by gravity, deep circulation may be assisted 
by the increase of temperature with depth; the waters from the surface 
working downward reach higher and higher temperatures until, through 
some comparatively free way of ascent, they rise and emerge at the surface- 
as thermal springs. Also, deep waters may become so charged with gases 
that the}' rise more strongly than by difference of level alone. 

In the Coastal Plain of Virginia deep circulation is along gently inclined 
porous strata and neither gain in temperature nor gaseous content is an 
important factor in the movement of the water. Flow down hill is suffi- 
cient to account for the facts observed. Yet, while the water moves down 
the dip of the porous beds toward the sea, the course of a single drop may be 
anything but a straight line. The beds are not of uniform texture for long 
distances. Instead, the water-bearing sands form irregular partly connected 
or discontinuous lenses, here coarse, here fine, and a drop following the line 
of least resistance may move down, across or even up the general dip of the 
beds. The limiting depth of active circulation is unknown, but the high 
mineralization of the deep waters in the Norfolk region indicates that 
their circulation is feeble. 

Temperatures of deep water. — The thermal gradient, or rate of increase 
of temperature with depth, varies from place to place being most rapid in 
regions of recent volcanic activity. Unless running freely through open pas- 
sages, underground water has the temperature of the material in which it 
is found. Hence temperatures of a large number of wells of varying depth 
show the temperature of the line of no change, its distance below the surface, 
and the increase of temperature with depth beneath. 

Some observations in Tidewater Virginia indicate that the mean tem- 
perature of the line of no change is 56° to 59° and that the line lies at 
least 50 feet below surface ; its exact depth was not determined because of 
the difficulty of getting the temperature of the water in the relatively small 
number of wells 50 to 100 feet deep. 



50 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Temperatures of flowing welis measured at the surface are subject to 
error. In most of the older artesian wells in Tidewater Virginia casing 
goes only to some dense bed below the Columbia sands and gravels. In some 
areas, as at West Point, two or even three deep water beds have been pene- 
trated, and the flows from all the sources mingle, so that the temperature at 
a certain well is not the temperature of any one flow. Again in rising 
through several hundred feet of pipe water loses heat. Hence of two wells 
side by side tapping the same water bed, the one poorly sunk or cased that 
yields a mere dribble will show a decidedly lower temperature than its freely- 
flowing neighbor; for the same reason the flow of a 6-inch well will show 
the temperature of the source more accurately than that of a 2-inch well. 

Temperatures of a considerable number of flows were taken in the course 
of field work, as shown in table 6. These temperatures are subject to the 
possible errors above stated, the most trustworthy figures being those of the 
freest flows. 

In the following table are grouped the depth and temperature of flow 
of a number of wells : 

Temperatures of artesian flows in Virginia Coastal Plain. 



Location 



Mount Holly . 
Chain Ferry . . . 

Warsaw 

Coan 

Tappahannock . 

Boulevard 

Jamestown 

Bayport 

Jamestown ... 

Freeport 

WVst Point .... 
( urtis Point . . 

Leehall 

Urbanna 

[rvington 

Lamberts Point 
Seidell 



Depth 



(Feet) 



153 
172 
188 
188 
256 
266 
270 
300 
300 
330 
335 
301 
400 
470 
580 
016 
716 



(6-inch well 



i 3-inch well 



Flow 



(gal. per min.J 

L5 

10 
16 
16 
5 .5 



Temperature! 
of flow 



(°F) 



40 
20 

7S 
2 

37 



25 



51 



Probable 

mean 

aim. temp. 

of locality 

(°F) 



63 




62 




62.6 




62.5 




62.5 


d() 


63 


57.5 


65 


56.5 


64 


56.8 


64 


56.5 


63 




60 




67 


56.6 


65 


56.4 


68 


56.8 


69 


56.3 


72 


59 


70 


57 



The indicated average gradient of 1° for each 40 feet increase in depth 
i- probably a close approximation to the truth. 

The above table subject to the errors indicated may be used for roughly 
checking the <l<'ptli of a well. For instance, the water from the bottom of a 



ARTESIAN" WATERS. 51 

well 300 feet deep should have a temperature of about 6^° F. This check 
however is of no value unless an accurate instrument is used. Many cheap 
thermometers are not correct within 2 degrees, and to use one of these is a 
waste of time. 

Composition of deep water. — The substances in solution in the deep 
water at a given point necessarily bear some relation to the composition of 
the enclosing beds, to the depth below surface,, and to the freedom of 
movement, but this relation is often extremely obscure. The chemical re- 
actions that take place, under the conditions of circulation in solutions as 
dilute as most underground waters, are hardly comparable with the 
reactions observed in a chemical laboratory. 

In Tidewater Virginia the mineralization of the deep waters increases 
toward the southeast. This change is not directly due to increase of depth, 
nor has it been shown to be due to changes in the composition of the en- 
closing beds. The rank of the controlling factors is discussed in the con- 
sideration of the artesian flows of the Norfolk-Newport News area. De- 
fective circulation seems most important. 

ARTESIAN" WATERS 

Definition of artesian. — The term artesian well has different meanings 
in different parts of the United States, being applied variously to all bored 
or drilled wells much deeper than the dug wells of the particular locality, 
to deep wells in which the waters rise, and to wells in which the waters rise 
and overflow. Even in Tidewater Virginia usage is not uniform. Both the 
deep drilled wells with water-level 100 feet below surface, at Eichmond, and 
the much shallower flowing wells along river banks or the shores of Chesa- 
peake Bay are called artesian. In this report the word artesian is used 
to designate the hydrostatic principle, the tendency of water to seek its 
level. Hence artesian waters are those which rise when the beds containing 
them are tapped. An artesian slope is a slope with artesian water below it, 
and an artesian well is one that taps artesian water. A well in which the 
water rises above ground-level is called a flowing well. 

Artesian conditions. — Flat-lying ground water obviously cannot be arte- 
sian; the water in a well sunk to it will stand at the level of the water table. 
Difference of elevation is essential, the other conditions vary from place to 
place.® 



aFor a discussion of all the factors involved, see Summary of the Controlling 
I Factors of Artesian Flows, by M. L. Fuller, U. S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 319, 1908, 

1 44 pp. 



52 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

In Tidewater Virginia the governing conditions are these: 

(1) Sufficient rainfall. 

( 2 ) Porous beds that receive rainfall directly or indirectly. 

(3) Differences of elevation. 

(4) Sufficient slope to the porous beds to carry them below less per- 

vious beds. 

Coastal Plain an artesian slope. — The Coastal Plain formations dip 
seaward. They contain Avater-filled open-textured beds overlain by relatively 
dense beds. The confined waters are artesian, and the Coastal Plain is an 
artesian slope. Some conditions causing artesian water are indicated in 
Fig. 1. 



Sea lei-el 




Fig. 4. — Diagram illustrating artesian conditions in the Coastal Plain Province of 
Virginia, (a) Well penetrating two artesian sands; strong flows because of 
sands pinching out or becoming clayey. (6) Well finding no water in beds 
penetrated by (a), but drawing on a water bed that does not outcrop, (c) Well 
to isolated sand bed. water under low head. 

Source of artesian water. — To account for flowing wells some persons 
assume a great difference of elevation is necessary and say of the water gush- 
in- from a bore hole that it must "come from the mountains." They do not 
realize that there is no difference in principle between water rising in a well 
to 10 feet above the water bed and water rising to surface, nor do they 
realize thai the heads of the flowing wells are low in comparison with the 
elevation of hills not far distant. The water that gushes from a well in 
Tidewater Virginia cither entered the artesian bed at its outcrop or was fed 
to it from overlying beds. In either case the water entered the ground 
within the Coastal Plain. Some topographic relations of the artesian flows 
are shown in Pig •'>. 




Fig. 5. Diagram illustrating relations of head of artesian wells to topography in the 
Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



ARTESIAN WATERS. .)'.) 

Initial head. — As the Potomac, Rappahannock, Pamunkey, Mattaponi, 
and James rivers have cut valleys to the western edge of the Coastal Plain, 
the outcrops of beds or zones that cam'' artesian water to the east are ex- 
posed from tide-level almost to the tops of the interstream divides. Hence 
what may be called the initial head of the waters is not represented by the 
elevation of the porous beds at their edges on the divides nor by the height 
of the water table in deposits overlying the upper edges of the beds, for there 
is leakage toward the valleys. 

Loss of head. — Ordinarily water never rises as high in a well as the level 
of the ground water supply of the artesian bed. This loss of pressure is due 
to the frictional resistance the water has met in passing through the sands, 
nnd to leakage in the journey to the well or down the dip of the beds beyond 
the well. Where water is confined under pressure in a widely-extending 
bed of uniform size sand grains through which the movement of water in 
any given direction is very slow, the flow to a well is along the bed from all 
directions at practically the same velocity, and the loss of head by frictional 
resistance during transmission from the distant source is small. Thus in 
that vast artesian reservoir of the Great Plains — the Dakota sandstone — the 
loss of head down the dip is only about 1 foot per mile. Water in beds 
of sand less evenly sized or less confined shows much greater loss of head, 
100 feet per mile or even more. 

In the Coastal Plain of Virginia are artesian sands in which the size, 
the angularity, the evenness of assortment, and the looseness of the compo- 
nent grains vary greatly, hence water circulates through them at various 
rates. On this account, and because of the uncertainty as to the probable 
initial head of the water found at any place, and because of errors in drilling 
and casing, it is difficult if not impossible with present records to determine 
the loss of head per mile of the water in a particular sand or connecting 
series of sands. In some places the more eastern wells show higher heads 
than do other wells to the west tapping the same formation at about the 
same horizon. 

Ponded water. — Though the water that enters an artesian bed in the 
Coastal Plain deposits tends to move downward, that is seaward, toward 
some point of escape, ever getting deeper under cover, there are undoubtedly 
waters confined by sand beds pinching out or becoming clayey in all direc- 
tions but one, and therefore practically stagnant. Such stagnant or ponded 
waters far below sea-level may be highly mineralized, because the sands in 
which they lie have not, since deposition in the sea ages ago, been thoroughly 
flushed by vigorous circulation, or because in depressions of the land the 



54 UXDKRGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

beds up the dip were saturated with sea water which displaced the fresh 
water below. 

FLUCTUATION OF LEVEL IN ARTESIAN WELLS 

Some agencies that cause fluctuations in the level of the upper surface 
of the ground water, the water table, cause fluctuations of the water in 
artesian wells. The most effective in Tidewater Virginia are changes of 
level in bodies of water on the surface. Since there can be no free com- 
munication between the deep and the surface water, otherwise the deep 
waters would not be artesian, there can be no direct transmission of water, 
nor of pressure, through porous beds. The pressure is transmitted through 
the relatively impervious beds that confine the artesian water. A river 
flood, a high tide, a flooded swamp means increased load; this pressure is 
transmitted downward to the covered sands through the saturated but 
impervious clays, causing a slight plastic deformation, and the water in 
wells sunk to the sands rises. In flowing wells this rise is shown by 
increased yield. 

There are along Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers hundreds of 
wells showing marked tidal changes, some flowing only at and just after high 
water. In fact it is probable that all the deep wells on the shores of Chesa- 
peake Bay or its tributaries show tidal changes, though in some the rise 
and fall of water are very slight and are not detected. 

A change in atmospheric pressure can affect deep wells as it affects shal- 
low ones. If the well flows, increased pressure may be shown by diminished 
yield. Xear Sealston, in King George County, John Curtis has a 2-inch 
drilled well, 250 feet deep, that normally yields about two-thirds of a 
gallon per minute, the water rising only a few inches above the surface. 
This well flows most strongly before an easterly storm (when atmospheric 
pressure is less than normal) and during one period of cold weather with 
northwest winds (high atmospheric pressure) it ceased flowing for two days. 

QUALITY OF ARTESIAN WATERS. 

The wells drilled to the known Potomac sands are either near the western 
edge of the Coastal Plain or far to the east, there being none in the inter- 
mediate areas. Hence it is impossible to trace the changes in mineraliza- 
tion of the Potomac waters under cover. Similarly, as Upper Cretaceous 
beds have been recognized only in deep borings near Chesapeake Bay, noth- 
ing definite lb known regarding the quality of the water in Upper Cretaceous 
beds farther west. Ii is certain, however, that the waters in both the Poto- 
mac (Lower Cretaceous) and Upper Cretaceous beds show a .progressive 



ARTESIAN" SANDS. -DO 

increase in mineralization toward the southeast, like the waters in the 
Panmnkey and Chesapeake sands. The increase in bicarbonates is the most 
noteworthy feature. Waters which near the outcrop of the beds may be 
either soft or hard, take np bicarbonates, and if originally hard become soft 
by losing much of the lime they contained. Such sodic bicarbonated waters 
are not peculiar to Virginia; they are found in other parts of the Coastal 
Plain, especially in South Carolina. But in Virginia they underlie the 
larger part of the Coastal Plain west of Chesapeake Bay, and are remark- 
able because they differ decidedly from the ground water from which they 
are derived, and because the change from the calcic bicarbonated (hard) 
ground water in the marl beds of the Chesapeake and Pamunkey groups to 
the sodic bicarbonated (soft) artesian waters, takes place during a rela- 
tively short underground journey. As a rule the artesian waters become 
more mineralized by taking up chlorine, bicarbonate, sulphate, and sodium 
radicles ; that is, while there is a decided increase in the proportion of several 
acid radicles there is less increase in the basic radicles, except sodium. 

At some places, as for instance, Hardings, Northumberland County, 
and Smithfield and Shoal Bay, Isle of Wight Count}', there are waters that 
are practically dilute solutions of sodium bicarbonate. Although chemists 
have reported high carbonate contents in the waters at several places, these 
waters may actually contain no carbonates, or little more than a trace. It 
is probable that at comparatively few places does the content of carbonates 
amount to over 30 parts per 1,000,000. The carbonate content reported in 
some analyses represents the chemist's opinion rather than the salts actually 
in solution. 

Bicarbonated waters stimulate the growth of algae. The difference in 
this respect between most ground waters and the soft artesian waters is 
striking. A heavy growth of "green moss" accumulates in troughs and 
about the mouths of flowing wells in many counties west of Chesapeake Bay. 

Sodium bicarbonate waters have certain physiological effects and are not 
well adapted for all industrial purposes. Their healthfulness, their value in 
the treatment of disease, and their suitability for specific uses in the arts, 
are considered in another chapter. 

ARTESIAN" SANDS 

Number. — It is extremely doubtful if there is a single water-bearing 
stratum in Tidewater Virginia that is of wide extent. The water beds are 
to be regarded as sands of varying porosity, laid down in interleaved len- 
ticular deposits containing discontinuous streaks of hard rock. Thus while 



56 UNDERGROUND WATKI! RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

the wells along any given stretch of river may reach the same artesian 
zone, the depths to the points from which freest flows come may vary ir- 
regularly. 

The total number of the artesian sands is unknown. Few wells have 
been sunk deep enough to prove all of them in the formations above the 
top of the Potomac group, and the Potomac, under cover the thickest 
of the groups, contains more sands than all the overlying formations 
combined. Yet except for what is told by the records of the Fort Monroe 
and Norfolk City Water Works wells nothing is known of the Potomac 
sands under cover far from their outcrops. 

Potomac sands. — The Patuxent formation contains sands that under 
cover are probably as irregularly bedded as in their outcrops. Hence 
at one place the Patuxent may contain several beds freely yielding water, 
and at another not far distant show but one or two and these of feeble yield. 
Still, except in Norfolk, Princess Anne, Elizabeth City, and Mathews 
counties, and the eastern end of Gloucester County, good water is to be 
expected from the lower Potomac formation along the entire western shore 
of Chesapeake Bay, the mineralization increasing, deep under cover, toward 
the southeast corner of the State. The best chance for liberal yield is near 
bed rock rather than some distance above. On the Eastern Shore the Poto- 
mac lies so far below surface that there is little hope of getting good water 
from its lower beds. The most important wells drawing on the Patuxent 
are at Alexandria. 

The Patapsco formation, or upper part of the Potomac group, contains 
water-bearing sands, though toward its outcrop only a few artesian wells 
are known to draw on them. Of the eastward extent of the Patapsco, as 
of ihe Patuxent sands, little is known. The upper part of the 1,300 feet 
<»r -o of Potomac strata found in the Xorfolk area has been shown to 
contain a Dumber of water beds, and it is probable that under the whole 
of Tidewater Virginia, tin* upper Potomac contains artesian water, though 
the quality of the water is variable and in the southeast part of the State 
is poor. On the Eastern Shore there is a possibility of getting fair water 
from the upper beds of the Potomac near the Virginia-Maryland line, but 
there is little chance of good water from the Patapsco formation in North- 
ampton County. 

For a fuller discussion of the quality of the supplies obtainable from 
the deep-lying Potomac beds the reader is referred to the account of the 
deep wells of the Norfolk-Newport News area in another chapter. 

PamtmJcey sands. — Though they vary irregularly in thickness, the water 
beds of the Pamunkey have much more continuous layers than those of the 



ARTESIAN SANDS. 57 

Potomac, and because they lie nearer the surface have been drawn on by a 
far greater number of wells. They have been developed along the Potomac, 
Eappahannock, and James rivers, and reached by a few wells near Chesa- 
peake Bay. 

Of the two Pamunkey formations the Aquia is more important as an 
artesian reservoir than the Nanjemoy. The former underlies a wider area, 
and has been more developed along the Potomac and Eappahannock rivers. 

The Nanjemoy formation is, however, an important water-bearer and 
near its base contains sandy beds that have been tapped by many wells 
between Potomac and James rivers. Little is known of the extent of the 
Xanjemoy formation south of the James; apparently it thins or is cut out 
along a northwest-southeast line so that few, if any, of the many wells in 
Southampton Count}'' draw on it. 

Chesapeake sands. — In Tidewater Virginia the number of artesian wells 
drawing on Chesapeake sands is greater than the combined number of 
those drawing on Pamunkey or Potomac beds. This is because the artesian 
beds of the Chesapeake, in much the greater part of the area, yield fair to 
liberal supplies of good quality. Hence the beds below the Chesapeake 
have been explored only near or beyond the western edge of the Chesapeake 
outcrops, or where the Chesapeake supplies have been unsatisfactory. 

Most of the artesian wells on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay in 
the territory lying east of a line running from Pope Creek, on the 
Potomac Eiver, through Piping Tree, on the Pamunkey Eiver, to Clare- 
mont, on the James Eiver, draw on Chesapeake sands. 

Well records along the Potomac and the Eappahannock rivers show a 
number of Chesapeake sands. They are thin and of varying persistency. 
The most persistent are in the lower half of the group in the Choptank ( ?) 
and Calvert formations, especially the latter. Those near the top, in the 
St. Mary's and Yorktown, are more patchy. Along York and James rivers 
the sands yield water less freely than to the north, and toward the mouths 
of these rivers the Chesapeake contains few sands that give flows and these 
are neither continuous nor regular. 

On the Eastern Shore irregularly distributed sands near the top of the 
Chesapeake group, possibly high in the Yorktown formation, contain 
artesian water that supplies a few flowing wells along inlets from the bay 
or the ocean. This water varies in quality but on the average is very 
different from the artesian supplies found in Chesapeake beds on the western 
shore of the bay. 



58 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Columbia sands. — Generally thin, and for the most part lying above tide 
level, the Columbia sands on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay contain 
artesian water but rarely. Here and there "boiling" springs show artesian 
conditions but no flowing wells drawing on Columbia sands have been 
reported. On the Eastern Shore the Columbia sands are thicker and local 
conditions favor the storage of water under pressure in beds 50 feet or so 
below surface, which are here classed as Columbia. 

The relation of some of the artesian water beds in the Potomac, Upper 
Cretaceous, Pamunkey, and Chesapeake groups are shown by the sections 
given in Fig. 6. 

Flowing well areas. — As very few flowing wells in Tidewater Virginia 
have heads that are more than 35 feet above sea level, and heads on the 
Eastern Shore are under 10 feet, the flowing well areas are limited to the 
low ground bordering the bay or the ocean, and to strips of country of 
varying width along river and creek valleys. In other words, the flowing 
wells are confined to the shores, or to the terrace slopes. Enough drilling 
has been done to establish the extent of several artesian horizons west of 
Chesapeake Bay. It is certain that water which will rise above tide level 
can be had along the principal rivers from a short distance east of the "fall- 
line" to their mouths. Waters which will rise 25 feet above tide can be 
had along Potomac Eiver east of Matthias Point, along the Eappahannock 
from 15 miles east of Fredericksburg, along the Mattaponi below Beverly 
Pun, along the Pamunkey below Enfield, along York Eiver, and along the 
James below Wilcox Wharf. Wells of high head can also be had around 
the east end of the peninsula between Potomac and Eappahannock rivers. 
Between Eappahannock and James rivers, however, in Mathews and 
Elizabeth City counties, several deep wells did not get flows and the yield 
of others has been disappointingly small. East of Norfolk, in Norfolk 
and Princess Anne counties, flows can be had, but the prospects for potable 
water from the formations which give fine flows to the west and northwest 
is distinctly unpromising. 

Water that will rise 20 feet above tide, and in places even higher, can be 
had along Blackwater Eiver south of McClelland, along Nottoway Eiver 
south of Lumberton and along its principal tributary Assamoosick Swamp 
south of Littleton, along Three Creek east of Arriugdale, and along 
Meherrin Eiver from 15 miles below Emporia. As there are no topo- 
graphic maps that show the lowest, terrace along all the rivers, it is impossible 
to state the total extent of the area on the west side of Chesapeake Bay in 
which flows can be had. 




1 

3 X 



100 


[" c---"-.-f^ 


: i ^+4 =^~ 






"~ ^- 


300 
400 
600 












--.., PAHU"W 




U^ — 




700 

800 
SOU 

inon 




UPPER CRF 


ACEOUS ^"i 




CRYSTALLINE ROCKS "'"■-,. : 




1200 


■.*-- POTOMA 







Pig. 6.— Sections across the Coastal Plain Province of Virginia, showing geologic 
relations of artesian sands and of wells drawing on them. Columbia formations 
not shown except in section from Richmond to Virginia Beach. 



ARTESIAN SANDS. 59 

On the Eastern Shore, where the heads. of the artesian waters are much 
lower, flows may be had along the shore in many places, as shown by the 
records in table 1. They can not be had at every place where the surface 
elevation is less than 5 feet, though it is probable that the flowing well 
areas will prove to be more extensive than the records indicate, particularly 
along the ocean side of the peninsula. 

Some of the many flowing wells and the westward limits of flows from 
sands in the groups of formations are indicated in Plate I. 

Conservation of artesian supplies. — The artesian supplies obtainable 
under the greater part of the region investigated are so abundant that their 
conservation and even their most advantageous development have received 
little attention. The situation at West Point and at Colonial Beach, 
where hundreds of wells no longer flow, depriving owners of advantages 
that in the aggregate have a large money value, shows that conservation 
can not be neglected. While such severe restrictions on the use of under- 
ground water as some states have imposed are not required, there is already 
need for local regulation. Waste is unnecessary and may work public 
injury. Where many wells have been driven those on low ground need 
not be allowed by unrestricted flow to diminish or cut off the flow of wells on 
higher ground. Neither is it right that the static head of the water in an 
underground reservoir should be lowered to the detriment of innocent 
parties by the insufficient casing of new wells or by the neglect of old wells. 
The casing of wells at wharves may be damaged by accident or corrosion, 
allowing a part or the whole of the flow to escape below tide level. It 
is obviously unjust to permit this where it means loss to other property 
owners, and where it can be prevented by the simple expedient of plugging 
the well. It is true that at both Colonial Beach and West Point there are 
undeveloped sands that can furnish plenty of water, and the depletion of 
all the sands is a remote contingency, but this does not alter the essential 
injustice of permitting the impairment of an important natural resource, 
and the depreciation of private property by carelessness and neglect, 
especially when preventive measures are simple and inexpensive. Sooner 
or later the fact that the interests of the public are superior to those of 
any individual will be so generally recognized that unnecessary waste will 
not be tolerated. 



RECOVERY OF WATER 

CISTERNS 

The cistern is one of the oldest human devices for procuring a supply 
of drinking water, and it remains the most practicahle source of supply in 
many localities. Cistern water is soft and is usually regarded as pure, 
hence cisterns are dug where ground waters are hard, iron}- or brackish, or 
are liable to pollution. In the Coastal Plain of Virginia there are some 
villages and many isolated dwellings that rely chiefly on cisterns. The 
sanitary quality of the water stored compares favorably with what is 
obtained by the ordinary type of dug well but is seldom as excellent as it 
is thought to be, since cisterns, like wells, may be polluted from below and 
from above. Some cisterns are not tight and impure ground water can 
find its way in when the level of the cistern water is below the water table. 
Many cisterns are not properly covered and back-yard dust and insects 
get in. The chief source of contamination, however, is from the roof. 
Dust, dead insects, and the droppings of birds fall on roofs and accumulate 
in eaves troughs to be washed into cisterns at the first shower. Where 
birds perch on buildings the danger of contamination is obvious, but even 
where such gross pollution is not apparent, danger may lurk. The small 
box niters of sand or charcoal, such as are often used, do little more than 
remove visible impurities: the bacteria that cause disease pass through. 
In fact, such filters, unless the contents are frequently renewed, may become 
breeding places for pathogenic germs. 

Good cistern water is rain water properly collected and properly stored. 
Hence, cisterns should be tight, also they should be large, that only the 
best rainwater need be saved, that which falls at the end of showers when 
the air is free from dust and roofs and gutters are washed clean. There 
should be provision for diverting the water from the roof during the first 
part of a shower, and if filters are used they should be large so that the 
water will have to go through not less than 3 feet of fine sand before it 
reaches the storage chamber. In addition the cistern should bo tightly 
covered and provided with a good pump. To allow farm laborers to bail 
water from a cistern is to invite infection. 

SPRINGS AND SEETS 

Probably 90 per cent of all the springs in the Coastal Plain area issue 
as small flows from Bandy bods in the Columbia formations, or from sands 



SPEINGS AND SEEPS. 61 

and marls in the Chesapeake. Some of the marl springs are of considerable 
volume although none are known that approach in size the large limestone 
springs of the western part of the State. In former days it was customary 
throughout Tidewater Virginia to supply the manor houses, when possible, 
with spring water — in fact the location of many houses was determined by 
the finding of a suitable spring. A wood or masonry basin and a wooden 
shelter as a spring house were the usual improvements, and buckets the 
means of conveyance, though sometimes a hand-power pump at the spring 
forced water to a tank in the house. It is no longer easy for the average 
household to obtain water in the old way, and the use of springs for house- 
hold supply has greatly diminished. 

Improvement of springs. — The improvements required at springs are 
few. A basin of tile or concrete, or even of wood, with a spout and a 
tight cover, are the chief requisites. The common arrangement of an open 
basin from which water is dipped, and steps leading down to the basin, 
facilitates pollution. 

Use of rams. — To have a supply of spring water in a dwelling above the 
spring is in many cases neither difficult nor expensive. -A ram costing 
perhaps $10 at point of shipment and a few hundred feet of pipe are the 
essentials. The yield obtainable is dependent on several factors — the fall 
from the spring to the ram, the height at which the water is to be delivered, 
and the distance -of the ram from the spring and the point of deliver}^ 
A simple formula for rough calculations is one-seventh of the flow to four 
times the head — that is a ram fed by a flow of 7 gallons per minute under 
7 feet head will elevate 1 gallon per minute to a height of 28 feet, or 2 
gallons to a height of 14 feet. The smallest rams installed require at least 
1% gallons of water per minute for 3 feet of fall. 

Objections are sometimes made to rams and tanks. The commonest is 
that by storage the water becomes unpalatable. Against this is the con- 
venience of tap water. Between a well-situated spring and a dug well 
situated and curbed as too many are, the sanitary advantages are all with 
the spring. The main point in installing a ram is to have ram and pipe large 
enough to handle the water easily. Failure to measure the quantity of 
water available and the use of too small equipment are the chief causes of 
disappointment with new installations. 

COLLECTING TUNNELS AND DRAINS 

General statement. — The point where the upper surface of the ground 
water, or where some water-bearing sand reaches the face of a bluff or 



62 



l XI)i:i;<;ROUXD WATKR KEsOURCES of coastal plain province. 



terrace scarp, is frequently more or less hidden by wash. Hence it has 
happened that a small visible flow has been utilized when a larger yield 
could have been had by a little digging in a better situated or more con^ 
venient place not far distant. Where seeps on the faces of bluffs cause 
landslides that may destroy the beauty of a dwelling site, or do other 
damage, a small outlay of labor may not only stop the danger but develop 
a liberal supply of water less liable to contamination than that obtained by 
dug wells on top of the bluff. 

Mount Vernon collecting tunnels. — A good example of how to make the 
most of such springs is to be seen on the face of the 125-foot bluff at 
Mount Vernon, on the Potomac. Here small flows and seeps of water that 
emerge at 50 feet above tide from Potomac sands locally indurated to 
ferruginous sandstone, caused slips of overlying clay beds which threatened 
serious injury to the premises. The bluff shows the following section: 

Section of the bluff at Mount Vernon on the Potomac. 



Group and formation 



Material 



COLUMBIA, Sunderland Soil . 

Gravel 



Potomac 



water-bearing at base 



Dry red clay 

Brown and yellow clay 

Putty clay, pockets of water 

Sand and sandstone indurated by iron 

near face of the hill where tree roots 

reached water; 
Dry blue clay. . . 

Dry red clay 

Brown and yellow clay 

Dry putty clay 

Dry sandstone, no water at contact with 

clay below 

151ue clay 



Thickness 


Depth 


1 


1 


7 


8 


20 


38 


25 


63 


2 


65 


10 


75 


< 


82 


20 


102 


10 


112 


1 


113 


4 


117 


6 


123 



Under the direction of William Archer tunnels 6 feet high and 3% 
feet wide were run nearly east and west in the 7-foot bed of blue clay 
below the sand and indurated sandstone. The first tunnel, which carried 
2 feet of blue clay in the headings, was driven east 279 feet on a grade of 2 
inches in 100 feet, and cut all seeps on clay level at right angles. At a 
sudden V-shaped depression, which carried much water, an underdrain 4% 
feet deep and 2y 2 feet wide was dug. In this ditch 2-inch tiles were laid 
on 3 feet of rammed gravel, and covered with coarse washed gravel. Another 
tonne] was driven west 121 feet and filled with gravel. In August, 1906, 
the long tunnel was flowing 10,500 gallons in 24 hours, and the short tunnel 
7,500 gallons. 



• ' WELLS. 63 

The flows from the tunnels go to brick catch-basins, thence to two rams 
situated 18 feet below. With both rams running, 2,500 gallons a day are 
pumped to tanks 150 feet above river level. 

According to Mr. Archer, the tunnels have dried the face of the bluff 
for twice their length, have stopped land slips, and are an unqualified 
success. They seem to drain the overlying Columbia gravels as well as 
the spring bed. A 20-foot dug well on the terrace, 80 feet above the ditch, 
is said to have gone dry since the completion of the tunnels, and the water 
in another dug well 100 feet from the bluff has been preceptibly lowered. 

In ordinary practice there is no need of tunneling to develop hill-side 
springs. A gravel-filled trench to the bottom of the water-bearing bed, a 
covered catch-basin, a ram and pipe are enough. Since the work can be 
done when other farm duties are not pressing the labor expense may be 
small. There are many seeps and wet spots along the higher terrace scarps 
and river bluffs in Tidewater Virginia that can be developed by a little 
trenching. 

WELLS 

With the lessened use of springs as sources of domestic water supply 
there has been a great increase in the number of wells, until now, in most 
rural communities, every house has its well. As the wells are sunk to 
recover underground waters that are found under very different conditions, 
they vary greatly in depth, diameter, and yield, but may be divided into 
four classes as follows: (1) Dug wells; (2) Bored wells; (3) Driven 
wells; (4) Drilled wells. 

Dug wells. — At present, chiefly because of its low first cost, the dug well 
is the mainstay of a majority of the inhabitants of the Virginia Coastal 
Plain. Except in a few counties, or in exceptional locations, enough good 
water for the needs of an ordinary household can be had by a dug well 
close to the house and less than 50 feet deep, and the labor cost of such a 
well, dug at a time when other farm work is not urgent, is more or less 
nominal. In most parts of the tidewater country the only laborer specially 
•employed is the digger, and he may ask but $5.00 for digging 35 feet. 

Wells dug for household supply are 3 to 6 feet in diameter. When 
sunk through firm loam and sandy clays that will stand without support, 
usually no lining is placed, except enough at the bottom to keep the sand 
in the water-bed in place. This lining is of 2-inch plank, 12 to 16 feet 
long. Where water lies near the surface the wells are often lined with 
plank or boards from top to bottom, and have circular, octagonal, or 



64 UNDEBGBOUND WATER EESOUBCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

square cross-sections. In some localities the sandy soils will not stand and 
wells must be lined throughout, even though water lies 40 feet below the 
surface. 

The total cost, labor and materials included, for many a 35-foot well, 
wood casing, curb, rope, and bucket, has been under $20.00. Wells cased 
with brick or tile cost more — the prices asked b} r well diggers for digging a 
well and placing brick, running from 50 cents to $1.00 per foot of depth. 

The usual method of lifting water from the dug wells is by bucket with 
rope or chain, and windlass or pulley. At a few wells sweeps are still used. 
At an increasing number of wells are wooden lift-pumps or iron force- 
pumps, but the bucket is found in at least four-fifths of the country wells. 

The great majority of the pumps are operated by hand-power. In 
some localities windmills are used, and here and there are gasoline engines. 

Open wells of the sort most often seen rank among the most effective 
spreaders of disease. Wayfarers and transient laborers handle the bucket 
with their dirty hands, small animals fall in. and all manner of impuri- 
ties, such as the droppings of fowls that have had access to privies, or filth 
from the feet of laborers who have been working about manure heaps, are 
washed in at every heavy shower. If a bed that is water-bearing in wet 
weather is met part way down the walls of the well heave at that point, the 
casing deteriorates rapidly, and in a few years a break comes, with a rush 
of sand. Repairs are troublesome and may be more expensive than digging 
a new well. In such a case the old well is often filled carelessly, adding to 
the unsanitary surroundings of the new one. 

A well should be considered a permanent investment, and if not lined 
throughout with tile or cement should have a water-tight lining for several 
feet from the top. The top should be covered with a good sloping plat- 
form, and a pump that does not need frequent priming should be put in, 
t" avoid the contamination of the well water by any water used for priming. 

Bored wells. — This term is here aptplied to wells dug with an earth 
auger. Such well- are usually from 8 to 12 inches in diameter, and can 
unk cheaply where soils are free from large boulders. Most are 
covered have pumps, and are, if curbed with tile, superior to wood-curbed 
dug wells. They are of course cheaper than dug wells curbed with large 
tile bul their reserve capacity i> -mailer. While not so good for obtaining 
supplies from beds thai transmit water slowly, bored wells are much less 
liable to serious pollution than dug wells. 

Driven wells.- -Driven wells consist essentially of an iron pipe with a 
pointed cap. are usually iy 2 ( "' 2 inches in diameter, and are driven to a 



WELLS. 65 

water bed. They are particularly adapted to localities where soils are 
easily penetrated and water lies in loose, coarse, clean sands. Wells 10 
feet deep or less may be driven by a maul. Wells over 20 feet deep are 
usually driven by a hammer worked by a block and fall. The extreme depth 
to which a pipe can be driven depends on the character of the soil, but may 
exceed 100 feet. If the subsoil clay is tough, an earth auger is used to make 
a hole for the pipe. The water enters the well through holes in the cap 
and near the bottom of the pipe. To keep out sand galvanized iron screens 
are sometimes used, and, if the sand is fine, screens of brass gauze as fine 
as 60 mesh may be needed. 

Driven wells may be equipped with cheap pitcher pumps, costing $2 
to $5, wood pumps, or force pumps, the latter worked by hand or by a wind- 
mill. The obtainable yield varies with the transmission rate of the water 
bed, depth to water, size of pipe, and the pump. 

From a sanitary standpoint, a driven well is much superior to a dug or 
bored well. If the pipe is driven 10 feet or more below the lowest level 
of the water table, has a collar of concrete to hold it firmly and prevent 
surface water from working down along it, and is topped by a good pump, 
that does not need priming, a driven well is safe from surface pollution. 

There are hundreds of driven wells 1% or 2 inches in diameter and 5 
to 50 feet deep in the low terraces of the Virginia Coastal Plain. They 
are very numerous in Norfolk, Princess Anne, Accomac, and Northampton 
counties. With an ordinary pitcher pump the average yield is about 3 
gallons per minute. The total cost of a driven well varies with the depth 
and the equipment. For wells 5 to 50 feet deep the cost ranges from 
$3 to $40. 

Drilled wells. — Under this head are included all wells sunk by drilling 
rigs, whether of jet, rotary or percussion types. Diameters range from 1 to 
15 inches; depths from 50 to over 2,000 feet. 

In the tidewater counties the deeper wells — most of those over 50 feet 
and very nearly all over 100 feet deep — have been sunk hj rigs of the jet 
type. In these a stream of water is forced down a hollow drill rod and washes 
up the material loosened by the reciprocating bit. If the beds penetrated 
are loose, casing must be placed as the boring advances. In firm, compact 
sandy clays the hole will stand without casing. If no hard layers or loose 
sands are encountered progress is rapid, and by hand power alone a depth 
of 400 feet can be reached. 

Hand power rigs "have light derricks made of wood or of iron pipe, 
and are worked by two or more men pulling on a rope leading over a head 



66 CTNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN" PROVINCE. 

pulley, the bit being rotated with a wrench. Two other men are needed to 
work a pump to force water down the rod through openings in the bit 
and up the casing, and wash out the drillings. In firm sands free from hard 
"rocks" a hand power jet rig put down a IV2 incn hole 150 feet in half a day, 
but should one or more "rocks" be encountered, even though these be but a 
foot or so thick, a driller may be a week or two in completing a well. 

Drillers have sometimes substituted horse for man power, but practi- 
cally all wells over 300 feet are now sunk by rigs with gasoline or steam 
engines. "With these rigs, wells 2 or 3 inches in diameter have been sunk 
over 1,000 feet through the Coastal Plain beds. Various types of gear are 
used for giving a reciprocating motion to the drill rod. A rig capable of 
sinking a 3-inch hole 1,000 feet requires the services of a driller and a 
helper. The rate of progress, hence the total cost of drilling, depends 
largely on the skill and resourcefulness of the driller. Hard beds give 
trouble, but rapid progress is made through firm sands. 

For wells of large diameter, such as are needed for city supply or for 
the equipment of manufacturing plants, three types of drilling outfits have 
been used in the A r irginia Coastal Plain ; the jet, the rotary hydraulic, and 
the standard cable, all of which require for heavy work a driller, a helper, 
and one or two laborers. 

The rotary hydraulic rig has a revolving bit down which water is forced. 
It is particularly suited for rapid advance through soft or unconsolidated 
deposits. The chief objection to its use in a district where the water- 
bearing beds are thin and have not been definitely located, is that a sludge of 
mud and water is used to plaster the sides of the hole to prevent sand beds 
from running. By keeping pressure on a pump and forcing down mud 
a driller need not place casing and can therefore make rapid progress; 
this tempts him to neglect possible water beds, particularly if he is work- 
ing ;ii so much per foot. One well in Tidewater Virginia, said to have 
been sunk by this process 1,000 feet without casing, was not a success, 
though flows were found at lesser depths by other wells in its vicinity. 

The standard cable rig, the best type, all things considered, for going 
through rock, is not particularly adapted for work in the Coastal Plain 
Bands and clays. In most localities the casing has to follow the bit closely, 
and even a careful driller may have great difficulty in getting through 
sands which sometimes rise in the casing 100 feet over night. Sudden 
inrushes of -and may bury the drill, causing vexatious delays. Again the 
frictional resistance of the sands may prevent the casing, after several 



WELLS. 67 

hundred feet are placed, from going down by its own weight; then it has 
to be driven and heavy driving may break it at some joint, causing its 
collapse and the loss of the well. All things considered the jet rig is 
perhaps the best of the types in use, though in places what is known as 
the California stove-pipe rig could be used to better advantage. 

The actual cost of drilling a given well and the price asked by the 
driller may differ greatly. The driller assumes the risk of accidents and 
unforeseen delays, can not work all the year, and has to bear the expense 
of moving and setting up his rig. The drilling cost varies with depth, 
the rate of advance, the casing needed, etc. Where drilling is good the 
actual labor and power cost of a l^-inch well 150 feet deep may be $10 ; 
if hard "rocks" are struck the cost may be $75. The cost of larger wells 
varies as widely. Under favorable conditions a six-inch hole can be sunk 
1,000 feet for $1 per foot, excluding casing, but more than one driller has 
lost money contracting to sink 500 feet for $2 per foot. 

The usual price for a cased six or eight inch well from 200 to 500 feet 
deep has been $3 per foot. 

Most of the small diameter wells are sunk on a "flow or no pay" 
contract. Where a driller knows that at a certain depth water can be 
struck having sufficient head to rise above the well mouth he will contract 
at a low figure, whereas in territory that is new to him, or where the surface 
elevation makes a flow doubtful, he will ask much more. Large diameter 
wells are usually sunk at so much per foot, the price increasing below 
certain depths, or under a contract to get a flow and complete the well for 
a certain price. Whether the owner is liable to lose more at the hands 
of an unscrupulous driller by contracting for a flow at an unnecessarily 
high price than by having the driller working at so much per foot, pass 
by water beds to run up the total cost, is a question. The fairest contract, 
where conditions are unknown, is one which protects the driller from loss 
and stimulates him to do his best. Such a contract should be at a certain 
price per foot, with a bonus for obtaining the desired flow within a given 
time, or above a given depth. 

Speaking generally, the cost of a well may run from 10 cents to $5.00 
a foot, depending on the diameter of the well, the length of casing needed, 
and the material penetrated. The writer knows of a fine 1%-inch well 
150 feet deep, that cost, casing and all, but $18, and of a 6-inch well 
1,000 feet deep that cost $4,000. 

The most expensive well ever drilled in Tidewater Virginia is the one 
sunk at Fortress Monroe in 1902. This had 15-inch casing to 720 feet, 



68 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

12-inch casing to 1,200 feet, and 9-inch casing to 2,128 feet. From 2,128 
to 2,250 feet no casing was placed. The contract price was $34,820. 

MAGNETIC WELLS. 

The only magnetized well in the tidewater region to come to the 
writer's notice is that of J. M. Shackelford at Severn, in Gloucester Count}'. 
At first the casing is said to have had magnetism enough to hold up a 
10-penny nail, but in November, 1906, two years after the well was 
drilled, the magnetism was just sufficient to draw from the perpendicular 
a small iron key suspended from a ring. 

The reason for the magnetic action of the casing is simple. The 
earth is itself a great magnet; the drill falling at right angles to what are 
known as the lines of force becomes magnetic, the jar of the bit helping 
the particles of steel in it to become polarized. By the scraping of the bit on 
the casing the latter is magnetized in much the same way as a knife 
blade is by rubbing it on a pocket magnet. The duration of the magnetic 
effect depends on the physical structure of the metal in the casing and on 
the original intensity of magnetization. 

Claims that magnetic waters flow from such magnetized wells have 
been made, but have not been verified. The casing of the well at Severn 
is said to have shown a stronger effect when the water was running than 
when the flow was shut off. That such was actually the case seems doubt- 
ful. 

YIELD OF WELLS 

When the water in an open well is lowered by bailing or pumping the 
upper surface of the ground water is locally depressed, and under continued 
pumping falls until the increased rate at which the water enters the well 
from the surrounding sands by reason of the pressure toward it, equals 
the rate of bailing or pumping. The rate at which water flows to the well 
depends on the difference in pressure between the water at the instant it 
enters the well and the water in the surrounding sands, as measured by the 
local depression of the water table, and the ease with which the sands 
transmit water. As has been stated, every soil has a certain porosity 
determined by the size of the voids between the soil particles, and even- 
soil has, at a given temperature and a given difference of pressure, a certain 
rate at which it will transmit water, called its transmission constant. 
The conditions governing flow to wells have been studied by Schlichter, 
among others, who say- : 



YEILD OF WELLS. 69 

"The amount of water yielded by a common well or by a non-flowing 
tubular well is dependent first of all upon the degree of fineness of the 
material in the various strata from which the water is obtained. The 
size of the soil grains not only determines the rate at which water can be 
transmitted to the wells under a given head but it also determines the 
proportion of contained water the soil will freely part with. The fine- 
grained soils retain a considerable proportion of the water of saturation 
as capillary water even after free means of drainage are established, so 
that fine-grained materials will not only deliver water slowly but will 
furnish only a small total amount. Some quicksand is so fine that the 
waters can be pulled away from the fine grains only with the greatest 
difficulty."* 

The same general principles apply to artesian and flowing wells as 
to shallow open wells. The yield of water depends on the difference in 
pressure between the water in the well and the water in the sand, on the 
temperature (which for deep wells is unvarying), on the porosity, or rather 
the transmission constant of the sand, and on the thickness of the sand. 
These factors account for all the differences observed in the yield of flow- 
ing wells, except such as are due to faults in drilling or maintenance. 
Fine sands, imperfectly assorted sands, and clayey sands transmit water 
less freely than coarse, clean, evenly assorted sands, and coarse gravels 
transmit water still better. The boldest flows in the tidewater country 
come from beds of coarse, rounded sand or from beds of smooth gravel. 

LOSSES OF HEAD Oil YIELD IN" FLOWING WELLS 

Causes. — The commonest complaints of a well owner are that the water 
in his well will not rise as high as when the well was just completed, or 
that the yield is less, and that if he wants as much water as he had at 
first he must have a new well sunk. The causes of lower head and lessened 
yield are various, and the responsibility may rest on one or on many 
persons. The causes may be summarized thus : 

(1) Faults in sinking; such as (a) improper casing, (b) lack of 
screens. 

(2) Faults in maintenance; such as (a) neglect, (b) abuse. 

(3) Interference. 



a-Schlichter, C. S., Field measurements of the flow of underground water, U. S. 
Geol. Survey, Bull. No. 140, p. 87. 



70 undergbound water resources of coastal plain province. 

Faults in Sinking. 

The desire of a driller to economize on casing has resulted in reducing 
the flow of many a well. "Where the clayey Chesapeake or Pamunkey sands 
above the water bed would stand without casing it was customary for a 
driller to place casing through the overlying Columbia or Recent material 
and bottom it in the sandy clay, possibly using in all only a length, 
about 20 feet. Such work permitted (1) the sub-surface escape of 
water, by leakage, about the bottom of the casing, or the escape of water 
below the casing from a deep sand into a higher one; (2) the clogging of 
the well by material washed from the sides but too heavy to bo carried up 
and discharged by the flow. 

Some drillers instead of placing casing to the water-bed carry it down 
to an impervious layer, but leave a small pipe, usually the %-inch drill 
rod, in the well. This diminishes the danger of the well clogging but does 
not prevent possible leakage outside the pipe, which only half fills the hole 
of water from the deep sand into a sand nearer surface. 

Screens have been little used in small flowing wells on the western 
shore of the bay. Their use might diminish the possible yield, but would 
maintain the flow, of many wells sunk into loose sands and showing low 
initial heads. On the Eastern Shore screens are used at many wells because 
the loose sands and soft clays soon clog unscreened wells, or because at 
pumped wells the sands damage pump valves and cylinders. 

Faults in Maintenance. 

Neglect. — Most flowing wells, like non-flowing driven or dug wells, 
receive too little care from owners. Many flowing wells, particularly those of 
low head tapping loose sands, need to be cleaned occasionally. The sand can. 
be washed out with a good force pump and enough pipe to reach the 
bottom of the well. A well with a screen is sometimes clogged by sand 
grains packing against the screen. In such a case the flow may be restored 
by forcing water down the casing, thus loosening the packed sand. 

Abuse. — Under the head of abuse conic dropping in pebbles or other 
objects too heavy for the water to lift, attempt- at cleaning with a sash 
weight and string (a plugged well may be the result) and momentarily 
stopping the flow by the hand or otherwise. A momentary stoppage of 
(low may have no effect on some wells, particularly properly cased wells 
with high head, but at others it may permit loose sand in the casing or the 
bore hole to pack, thus greatly reducing if not cutting oil' the flow. Any 



INTERFERENCE. ?1 

sudden interruption of flow in a well not cased to the bottom may loosen 
material above the water sand and clog the well. 

Generally speaking, it is not advisable to shut off a flowing well, but 
where unrestricted flow may affect the head of nearby wells the flow may 
be reduced to a small fraction of the normal volume. The reason for not 
shutting off the flow entirely is that more than one well has had its flow 
reduced or cut off by children or older persons closing the pipe with their 
hands. 

Interference. 

The total supply of water in the artesian sands of the Virginia Coastal 
Plain is practically inexhaustible, but it is easily possible to draw so much 
water from a particular part of a bed, especially if the bed be thin, that 
the head of the water in that part of the bed is decidedly reduced. Such 
reduction of flow has happened at various places along the Eappahannock 
River; also, and especially, at Colonial Beach and West Point. 

At Colonial Beach the first artesian wells found water, at a depth of 
about 200 feet, that rose fully 20 feet above tide level, or above the surface 
at the highest points in town. Possibly 200 wells have been drilled in an 
area 1% miles long and half a mile wide. No restrictions have been put 
on flow and a few of the wells are pumped heavily. As a result the head of 
the water in the 200-foot sand has been so reduced that most wells in the 
center of the town do not flow at the surface, and many at lower eleva- 
tions flow only at high tide. Many wells back from the water front have 
been cut off below the surface and now flow into basins 5 feet or so deep. 
The lowest wells, those along the shore, drain those on higher ground. 
The sinking of one well on the water front has stopped the flow of a 
neighboring well on ground a few feet higher. Many of the wells were 
poorly cased and there is probably much leakage underground. That this 
loss of head is purely local is shown by the high heads of wells tapping 
essentially the same horizon at points a mile or two from town. 

At West Point where over 300 wells have been driven the loss of head 
has been even greater than at Colonial Beach, but conditions are more com- 
plicated. The city is on a point of land at the junction of the Mattaponi 
and Pamunkey rivers. There is a water-bearing sand at 120 feet and 
another at about 165 feet. Along the water front many wells have been 
drilled and allowed to flow without restraint. As a result wells on higher 
ground that formerly flowed now have to be pumped. The 120-foot sand 
that once furnished flows is now penetrated by many poorly cased wells 



72 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

sunk to the 165-foot sand, and the water flows down these holes to the 
165-foot sand and escapes from the river-front wells tapping the latter 
sand. The maximum local loss of head in the 165-foot wells has been 
about 15 feet; in the 120-foot sand even more. According to E. W. Wilkin- 
son, a well sunk in 1884, and one of the first if not the first in the town, 
flowed at an elevation of 14 feet above surface, or 20 feet above tide. 
After about a year and a half, when a number of wells had been drilled, 
the flow decreased and now the well is pumped. Isolated wells above the 
city or across the rivers show undiminished heads. 

The manner in which poorly cased wells and wells near river level have 
reduced the head of the water in the 120-foot and 16-5-foot sands at West 
Point is indicated in Fig. 7. 



Head oP water in third sand 
















fr 


Head of water en second sand 


1 




T 

L 










f 


— ~^_____ Sea Level 


First sand 




' 








Second sartd 








' ■ ' .'•'•;-;:■.•.":'•.',.-• '.'•..:,■■- 




~+- - ' — 




Third sand 




' ' ' . ■ -: ■ — 













Fig. 7. — Diagram illustrating artesian well relations at West Point, a, properly 
cased well which obtains a flow from the third sand; b, improperly cased well 
mi high ground, do How; <■, well at river edge; flows continually, draining 
third -and, also second sand through well b. 

From an examination of several hundred flowing wells in the Coastal 
Plain of Virginia the writer ranks the causes of decline in yield as follows: 
(1) interference; (2) neglect; (3) improper casing; (I) abuse. 



Utilization of Supply. 

The great majority of the flowing wells in Tidewater Virginia are of 
small diameter. 2 indies r less, and yield about '2 gallons a minute at the 



UTILIZATION OF SUPPLY. 73 

well mouth. This yield with proper economy is liberal for an average 
household. In great manufacturing cities where the installation of 
meters on all service mains has reduced the consumption of water to 
actual requirements the daily consumption is as low as 50 gallons per 
capita. The average person drinks about 3 pints of liquids per 
day and 25 gallons per capita has been estimated as sufficient for all 
domestic needs. Hence a flow of 2 gallons per minute, or 2,880 gallons 
per day, if storage capacity is provided, will not only more than suffice for 
a household of average size, but the overflow piped to the barn will water 
many head of stock, allowing 8 gallons per head. 

Yet at most places in Tidewater Virginia there is little effort toward 
economy. On the other hand, there are a few places, notably Tappahan- 
nock, where the superiority of the deep waters to those obtainable from 
dug wells is so much appreciated that wood or concrete tanks are built at 
some well mouths from which the water is piped to pumps or taps at two 
or three houses. 

Rams at flowing wells. — Where a house and farm buildings stand on a 
terrace 25 feet or more above river ; or bay level and flows on the terrace 
are impossible, an abundant supply may be had for dwelling and barn by 
harnessing a hydraulic ram to a flowing well of good head below the terrace 
and piping the water to a tank. A flow of 5 gallons per minute at 10 feet 
above tide level can be had along many inlets on the lower courses of the 
rivers on the west side of Chesapeake bay. If properly placed and con- 
nected, to utilize 7 feet of this head, a ram costing possibly $15 will. afford 
1 gallon per minute at 40 feet above the ram. There is little difficulty 
in thus making a flowing well pump its own water. The most essential 
feature of the equipment is a basin, small tank, or stand-pipe between the 
well and the ram; the ram should never be connected directly to the well. 
There are in Tidewater Virginia a number of wells with rams that give 
satisfactory service. Some failures reported were duo to not determining 
in advance the available head and flow and the amount that could be 
delivered at the desired point ; other failures were due to improperly placed 
or connected equipment. 

SANITARY PROTECTION OF WELLS 

In drilled wells there is ordinarily slight danger of pollution except 
from the top, because the tight iron casing protects against sub-surface 
contamination. Yet one can see wells that cost $200 sunk to sands that 
yield beautiful water, into which all kinds of backyard refuse are washed 



74 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

at every rain, simply because the top of the casing or the pump chamber 
is not properly protected, a defect remedied at trifling expense. Flowing 
well-, such as those in the Virginia Coastal Plain, are practically unpollu- 
table, and it is to this fact that the improved health of particular communi- 
ties after the development of artesian supplies has largely been due. 

The greater the number of people that may use a well the more urgent 
the need of the well water being free from disease germs. Also it is 
evident that if many people use an open well there is more chance of some 
person who carries disease germs handling the bucket and thus contamina- 
ting the well water. Consequently, wells at churches, camp-meeting 
o-rounds, courthouses, and schoolhouses need to be dug and protected with 
more than ordinary care. Many cases of typhoid fever have been traced 
to such public or semi-public wells, and yet the precautions taken against 
the pollution of well water at many gathering places in the tidewater 
country are practically of no account. Usually the most that is done before 
a camp meeting is to clean the dug well. This is a wise precaution but 
does not lessen the chance of the water being polluted during the meeting. 
Absolute safety means making pollution impossible. This implies location 
with regard to natural conditions of drainage — most church and court- 
house wells in the tidewater country satisfy this requirement— and then, 
if water can not be had by a driven well and a deep drilled well would be 
too costly, providing a water-tight casing extending several inches above and 
ni leasl 5 feet below ground level, a water-tight cover and a good pump. 
The open well and the oaken bucket may appeal to sentiment but the 
tightly cased well and the force pump are far more sanitary. 

Even though a drilled or driven well is properly sunk and has a good 
pump, occasional inspection is necessary to make sure of an unpolluted 
supply. A virulent outbreak of typhoid at one locality in the tidewater 
country was traced to the schoolhouse well. This well had been sunk to 
;m artesian sand, the water from which rose to within a few feet of surface. 
As the artesian water was known to be excellent the well was not suspected 
until the coming of the level', which attacked 40 per cent of those who drank 
the well water, [nvestigation showed that the casing had vuAvd through 
at ground water Level, a few feet below Burface, and in consequence the well 
for nn unknown length of time had not drawn <>n the artesian supplies but 
• in ;i polluted source. 



MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLIES. 7 5 

PUBLIC HEALTH AS RELATED TO UNDERGROUND WATER SUPPLY. 

Without accurately kept mortality tables covering a term of years, it 
is practically impossible to prove or disprove statements regarding changes 
in the death rate or in the prevalence of particular diseases at specified 
communities. Hence, statements regarding the effects of changes in the 
conditions of living in the smaller settlements and the rural districts of the 
Virginia Coastal Plain are of value only in so far as they are put forth by 
persons who are familiar with the conditions and are competent to judge. 
For this reason the testimony of local physicians is of decided value. In 
their opinion changes in sources of water supply in towns, villages, and 
on farms have been followed by definite changes in the prevalence of 
specific diseases, more especially typhoid fever and malaria. Following 
the lessening use of springs as sources of supply and the increasing use of 
unprotected dug wells, there was a marked increase in typhoid. The sub- 
stitution of driven and drilled wells for open wells at particular villages 
has notably diminished the prevalence of this disease and lowered the 
death rate. In addition physicians living in widely separated communities 
claim that the development of artesian supplies in the lowlands along 
the rivers has practically freed many tracts from the malarial fevers for 
which they were once notorious. 

MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLIES 

SOURCE OE SUPPLY 

Some of the towns and cities in the area covered by this report have 
waterworks that distribute surface water, a few have plants that draw on 
underground supplies. The surface water is variously obtained from rivers 
or ponds, the underground water from shallow or deep sources. 

SURFACE WATER 

Eivers and creeks are the more important sources of surface water. 
They are subject to great variations in volume of flow and quality of supply; 
at times of flood they contain much finely divided mineral matter in suspen- 
sion or semi-solution, and are extremely turbid. Many of the surface waters 
are polluted ; the large rivers by the sewage of cities, the creeks by drainage 
from privies, barnyards or cultivated fields. The ponds drawn on are as a 
rule less liable to pollution, but vegetable growths frequently make the water 
high-colored or give it an offensive smell and taste. In consequence, most of 



76 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

the public supply systems include equipment for rendering the water more 
acceptable, ranging from simple settling basins to elaborate filtration 
plants. 

UNDERGROUND WATER 

Though the porous sands of the various Coastal Plain formations form 
great underground reservoirs, they are much less important as sources of 
municipal water supply than rivers and creeks. This is because there are few 
cities or towns of large size along the middle portion of the Virginia 
Coastal Plain where the underground waters, and more especially the 
artesian waters, are most readily available. The cities are chiefly on the 
western edge of the Coastal Plain, where flowing wells can not be had and 
the ground water supplies are not sufficient for the needs of large cities ; or 
towards the seaward edge where the deep artesian water is not well suited 
for municipal use, and satisfactory shallow water is restricted to certain 
areas. 

SUITABILITY OF SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND WATERS FOR MUNICIPAL NEEDS. 

The belief that underground water is better, that is more healthful, 
than surface water is widely held, but rests on the sparkle, clearness, cool- 
ness and taste of well and spring waters rather than on careful investiga- 
tions of their merits. 

Surface waters are often badly polluted but settling and filtration 
render them innocuous; the water furnished by the supply systems of the 
larger cities in eastern Virginia is, from a sanitary standpoint, altogether 
superior to that obtained from many dug wells in villages. The deep 
artesian waters are unpolluted, but under a considerable part of the Vir- 
ginia Coastal Plain they contain enough mineral salts to make them less 
suitable for boiler supply and other industrial purposes than filtered surface 
water. The latter, as a rule, contains little lime and the addition of the 
chemicals for precipitating finely divided matter does not increase the 
mineral content enough to affect the industrial value of the water as distri- 
buted. In general it may be said that nearly all of the public supply systems 
distribute good water, that is, water which satisfies sanitary and industrial 
requirements. In fact, most of the cities of Tidewater Virginia have 
reason to be proud of the excellence of their public water supplies. 

NOTES ON CITY AND TOWN SUPPLIES 

The city of Richmond own- its water supply system. James River 
receives the sewage of several cities and towns and is often very turbid. 



MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLIES. 7 7 

The water is collected in a settling reservoir above the city limits and after 
purification is pumped to the mains and to smaller distributing reservoirs 
on high points in the city. Careful determinations of the variations in 
turbidity, and chemical and bacterial quality of the water were made 
during a number of years, and on the basis of the results the city installed 
a sedimentation and coagulation plant. The water after treatment is 
remarkably clear. The municipal waterworks in Manchester distribute 
James Biver water, collected above the city at a point opposite the intake 
of the Eichmond city waterworks and purified by sedimentation and 
mechanical filtration. 

Barton Heights, a suburb of Eichmond, was supplied in 1910 with 
water obtained from a spring and from a well 759 feet deep. 

Norfolk gets water from three distributing systems. The city water- 
works, which supply most of the city, draw on small lakes in low ground 
northeast of the city; the sanitary surroundings of these in 1906 were good. 
Complaints of color and odor, caused by vegetable growths, led to the 
installation of a coagulation and filtration plant, and the water supplied 
is now satisfactory. To meet the prospective needs of the city other sources 
of supply have been sought. Part of Norfolk and several suburban towns, 
Lambert's Point, Ocean View, Huntersville and Lindenwood, are supplied by 
the Norfolk County waterworks, which get most of their supply from a 
system of driven and dug wells on a tract of land near the lakes that supply 
the city works. This ground water is of good quality and is distributed by a 
direct pressure system without filtering. To supply an increasing demand 
the company has investigated the development of surface waters similar to 
those distributed by the Norfolk City waterworks. The eighth ward of 
Norfolk, formerly the city of Berkeley, is supplied by the Norfolk, Berkeley 
& Suffolk Water Co. Most of the water comes from a system of shallow 
driven wells on a tract of land not far from Berkeley, but part comes from 
Smith's Creek (Lake Kilby) near Suffolk. The well water is of satisfactory 
quality but the quantity obtainable on the tract near Berkeley is insufficient 
for the prospective needs of the community. 

The cities of Suffolk and Portsmouth are supplied by the Portsmouth, 
Berkeley & Suffolk Water Co., with Lake Kilby water. The water of 
Lake Kilby is high-colored and at times has an objectionable smell. The 
water distributed passes through a coagulation and sand-filtration plant 
which reduces the color and removes the odor. 

The city of Newport News, the city of Phoebus, the town of Hampton, 
the Hampton Agricultural and Collegiate Institute, the National Soldiers' 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Home, near Hampton, and the military post of Fort ]\£onroe, are supplied 
with water by the Old Dominion Water & Power Co. This company has 
a large reservoir in Warwick County, controls practically all the watershed 
(about 1,500 acres) of the creeks feeding this reservoir, and endeavors to 
protect the watershed from pollution. Because of complaints of high 
color and disagreeable odor the company installed a coagulation and filtra- 
tion plant (mechanical filters) and the water is now satisfactory. 

The city waterworks of Petersburg distribute surface water obtained 
from Livetenant Eun, a creek that empties into Appomattox River on the 
east side of the city. The watershed of the creek is open to pollution from 
dwellings, but the creek water is passed through a settling and coagulation 
basin and is filtered before distribution, consequently its quality is satis- 
factory. 

Fredericksburg owns its distributing system, which obtains water from 
a canal of the Rappahannock Power Co., supplied by a dam on Rappahan- 
nock River three miles west of the city. The river is often very turbid and 
local conditions do not tend to improve the quality of the water passing 
tli rough the canal, but a collecting reservoir at the pumping station permits 
decided improvement by sedimentation. From the collecting reservoir the 
water is pumped to a distributing reservoir on the heights south of the city. 
A considerable number of people in the city obtain water from the mains 
of the Aqueduct Company. This water comes from several springs, none 
of large size, on the high ground south of the city, and is generally of 
satisfactory quality. 

Alexandria has city waterworks that distribute water from Cameron's 
Run, a creek on the south side of the city. The water is collected three 
miles west of the city and brought by a canal to a pumping station, whence 
it is forced to settling and distributing reservoirs on Grimes' Hill. The 
run water is often turbid, the water shed is inhabited, and conditions along 
the canal are not altogether satisfactory. However, the quality of the 
water is decidedly improved by sedimentation in the settling reservoir. 

The city waterworks of West Point draw on artesian wells that tap 
sands 330 feet below surface. The sanitary excellence of this supply is 
not disputed, bul its industrial value would be greater were the water less 
mineralized; it contains considerable bicarbonate and sulphate of soda and 
in boilers has a tendency to foam. 

The town of Franklin ha- a public supply system drawing n Black- 
water River. The water is pumped from the river to a tank on a high 
fcower; it is a good boiler water but at times is objectionable for drinking. 



MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLIES. ?!> 

The Smithfield supply is from a pond on a small creek three miles 
west of the town. It is not filtered, but the small watershed of the creek 
is sparsely settled, and except for vegetable growths the quality is satis- 
factory. 

The town of Emporia distributes Meherrin Eiver water. An attempt to 
get water by a deep well gave unsatisfactory results. 

Practically all the water distributed by the municipally owned system 
of the town of Cape Charles comes from driven wells varying in depth 
from 30 to 90 feet. The supply is not altogether satisfactory, partly because 
the wells are close to tidewater. The water is hard and forms scale in 
boilers. 

The Onancock waterworks draw on driven and drilled wells less than 
75 feet deep, and on a large dug well. The water, while slightly hard, 
works well in boilers, and except for the possibility of polluted water 
entering the dug well, the sanitary surroundings in 1906 were good. 

The military post of Fort Myer, west of Alexandria, is supplied with 
filtered Potomac Eiver water. Fort Hunt on Potomac River, below 
Alexandria, obtains excellent water from an artesian well. 

A summarized statement of information collected regarding the public 
water supply systems of the Coastal Plain towns and cities appears in 
table 2. 






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82 UXDEBGBOUXD WATEB BESOUBCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

MINERAL WATERS 

r J"lie term, mineral water, as commonly used, implies either water having 
therapeutic value or water differing decidedly from that obtained from the 
springs or shallow wells of a given region. Some waters, classed as mineral, 
are very soft and pure, and owe the esteem in which they are held largely 
to their low mineralization. Others are so highly charged with various 
substances that they are offensive to taste and smell and have a powerful 
physiologic action. 

As has been stated the potable underground waters of the Virginia 
Coastal Plain differ widely, the amount of dissolved mineral matter they 
contain varying from less than 50 to over 9,000 parts per 1,000.000. Many 
are especially light and pleasant table waters: a few are so strongly mineral- 
ized that they should be drunk only under the advice of a physician. 

In genera], the shallow waters differ more than the deep waters, yet 
they are distinguished by the predominance of calcium and magnesium 
salts. Some springs of shallow source contain iron and aluminum salts in 
sufficient quantity to have therapeutic value, others are notably free from 
such compounds. Most of the spring waters that have been marketed are 
of such low mineral content that they are to be classed as table rather 
than as medicinal waters. 

Outside of Southampton and Alexandria counties and a part of Essex 
County the deep waters so far developed are characterized chiefly by the 
pressence of sodium and potassium salts, especially the bicarbonates. Few of 
these waters have been marketed, partly owing to lack of suitable transporta- 
tion facilities. Some of those exploited contain sodium and potassium 
bicarbonates in sufficient proportion to be of therapeutic value. 

The following list includes wells and springs from which water has been 
shipped in a commercial way at times during the past five years: 

Beaufort Lithia Spring Chesterfield County 

Bellfont Lithia Spring Chesterfield County 

Buckhead Lithia Spring Chesterfield County 

Campfield Lithia Spring Chesterfield County 

Cappahonk Lithia Spring Chesterfield County 

Days Point Artesian Lithia Spring Isle of Wight County 

I )i;i moiid Spring Princess Anne County 

Erup Mineral Spring Alexandria County 

Ponticello Lithia Spring Chesterfield County 

Holly Lithia Spring Chesterfield County 

Bume Spring Alexandria County 

Landale Mineral Spring Norfolk County 

Mioo Water Alexandria County 

Mulberry Island Chloride Lithia Water. ... Warwick County 

Trepho-Lithia Water Surry Countj 

Powhatan Spring Alexandria ( < unity 

Virginia Lithia Springs Chesterfield County 

White Oak Spring Norfolk County 



DEEP WELLS IX CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 83 

Other springs and wells than those named have in years past furnished 
water for sale, and a few have been more or less extensively exploited. 

The list of producers shows that mineral springs are apparently confined 
to a few counties, seven of the eighteen springs named being in Chesterfield 
County, four in Alexandria County, and two being in Norfolk County. 
This localization, however, simply means that most of the commercial 
springs are near cities in which there is a demand for agreeable drinking 
water. Thus the Chesterfield County springs had their commercial begin- 
nings in shipments' to Eichmond, and those in Alexandria County in ship- 
ments to Washington, at a time when the public supplies of both Eichmond 
and Washington were often turbid and were regarded with suspicion by 
many people. The chief market for the springs in Norfolk County is the 
nearby city of Norfolk. 

There are few sanatoriums or large hotels utilizing the alkaline artesian 
waters for the treatment of disease, but a large amount of water that might 
be designated as "mineral" under any usage of that term, is obtainable from 
artesian wells along the lower courses of Potomac, Eappahannock, and 
James rivers, and at least one city, West Point, distributes by a public 
supply system an alkaline bicarbonate and sulphate water that is claimed 
to have decided merit in the treatment of certain disorders of the stomach, 
liver and kidneys. 

VALUE OF MINERAL WATERS 

The total value of the mineral water reported sold by the springs and 
wells named in the preceding list amounted to $33,000 in 1910. In 
addition to these sales several of the springs used large amounts in the 
manufacture of sweetened beverages. 

DEEP WELLS IN CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 

General statement. — All the flowing wells of Tidewater Virginia tap 
waters that circulate through pervious beds in sedimentary deposits. Along 
the western edge of the Coastal Plain, a considerable number of wells have 
been sunk through the comparatively thin, sedimentary beds and have 
obtained water from the underlying crystalline' rocks. 

These rocks are hard, dense and without pervious beds. The water does 
not move through minute interstitial spaces but through relatively free 
passages, joint cracks which intersect the mass of the rock at various angles. 
The joints are of two orders, those roughly parallel to the upper surface of 
the rock or sheet joints, and those which are steeply inclined. Near surface 



84 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



the sheet joints are much nearer together and more open than at a depth 
of several hundred feet. The vertical joints do not disappear as rapidly 
with depth, but as a rule grow narrower below; yet they do not extend 
downward indefinitely. Since the water lies in cracks and crevices that 
intersect irregularly there is nothing regular in its occurrence. Success in 
drilling depends on striking a crevice, and the wider and longer the crevice, 
and the greater the number of crevices it intersects, the larger the yield. 
One well may find water at a certain depth, while another, a few feet distant, 
may go twice the depth and find none ; one well may strike a crevice carry- 
ing water fed to it from some distance through a series of connecting 
crevices; another may strike at over 1,000 feet a crevice containing water 
that comes almost directly from the surface and possibly from close to the 
well mouth. The general character of the circulation in the crystalline 
rocks is shown by the accompanying diagram. 




:.& 



Fig. 8. — Diagram illustrating circulation of water in crystalline rocks, and well 
supply, (a) Deep well striking water that enters near well. (&) Deep well 
finding no water, (c) Deep well striking several crevices, (d) Unconsolidated 
material. 

For the above reasons deep wells in crystalline rocks are considered by 
themselves, and facts relating to them are tabulated separately. Also, as 
the results of deep drilling in the vicinity of Richmond throw light on the 
occurrence of water in similar rocks and the prospects for deep wells in a 
strip of country extending from Maine to Georgia, some data collected in 
the course of field work are here discussed in detail. 



DEEP WELLS IN" CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 85 



WELLS NEAR RICHMOND 

General conditions. — Eichmond is situated at the "fall-line;" the 
resistant crystalline rock, a gray hornblende granite, outcrops in the bed of 
James Eiver and causes rapids. In the low ground along Shockoe Creek 
and Gillies Creek the granite is overlain by Potomac sands and gravels; 
on the higher ground in the central and north parts of the city by Chesa- 
peake dark sandy clays or marls, and along James Eiver near the rapids by 
Columbia cobble beds and loams. The James is tidal to the foot of the 
rapids but the high Sunderland plain on which much of the city is built 
has an elevation of from 175 to over 200 feet. Hence, elevations of well 
mouths differ greatly and though a few wells were started almost directly 
on granite, others went through over 100 feet of loam, clay, and sand before 
striking hard rock. 

Because of differences in surface elevation there are differences in the 
depth below surface at which water stands. In wells on high ground in the 
center of the city, water level is over 100 feet below surface. As most of 
the wells are pumped intermittently and few give large yields, deep well 
pumps are generally used. In some of the wells the pump barrel is 300 
feet below the well mouth. The waters show wide differences in composition 
and have no general resemblance; two or three wells seem to draw on the 
same system of joint cracks, and one well yielded water unlike any other 
in Tidewater Virginia. Particulars are summarized in the accompanying 
table ; only those wells that are of especial interest are discussed at length. 

WELLS NEAR RIVER FRONT 

Richmond Paper Co. — One of the first deep wells at Eichmond was that 
of the Eichmond Paper Co., drilled near the corner of Byrd and 9th Streets, 
in 1884. Water which rose to within 60 feet of surface, elevation 83 feet, 
was found at 250 feet, but it was sulphur-bearing, pitted boilers, and con- 
tained so much iron that it could not be used in bleaching rags, conse- 
quently the well was abandoned. 

Albemarle Paper Co. — Another early well was that of the Albemarle 
Paper Co., on the river bank near Hollywood cemetery, put down like that 
of the Eichmond Co., to get water more suitable for making paper than 
that obtained from the of ten- turbid James. It was started 10 feet above 
the river and found a small crevice at 225 feet from which water rose to 
about river level. The yield is so small, about 25 gallons per minute, that 



86 QNDEBGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

little use is made of the well except for drinking and washing filters. For 
boilers and for paper-making the company filters some 500 gallons per 
minute of river water. 

Other wells. — In addition to the wells of the Albemarle and the Richmond 
paper companies, there are a number of others near the river, including 
those of Kingan & Co., the Merchants Cold Storage and Ice Co., and 
the Transparent Ice Co. Depths vary from 248 to 703 feet and yields from 
15 to 210 gallons per minute, the deepest well giving the smallest supply. 
At the Kingan well, according to report, the drill dropped over 1 foot 
when the water-bearing crevice was reached. At these wells there is a 
relatively thin cover of earth, at some wells mostly made ground, above bed 
rock, and as suggested by Darton a they may yield surface water in part, 
though in most wells the character of the supplies indicates a deeper circu- 
lation. The waters contain enough lime and magnesia salts to make them 
had for boiler use and they are utilized for condensing only. That from 
Kingan £ Co/s well has a sulphur odor, a flat taste, and is purgative; it is 
said to be so corrosive that ordinary casing lasts only 3 months and heavy 
galvanized casing but 3 years. 

The analyst gave the following partial analysis with the results expressed 
as hypothetical combinations. The determinations have been recomputed 
to parts per 1,000,000. 

Partial analysis of water from 428-foot well of Kingan & Co. 
(Froehling & Robertson, analysts.) 

Paris per 1.000,000 

Total solids 779. 

Silica (Si0 2 ) 31.5 

Alumina and iron oxides (Al,0 3 + Fm0 3 ) 18. 

( alcium carbonate (CaC0 3 ) 175. 

( 'alcium chloride and sulphate ( ( a( IL+( aS0 4 ) 181 . 

Magnesium chloride I MgCl 2 ) 107 . 

Alkaline chlorides and sulphates 2(57. 

WELLS Ni:.\i; THE CENTER OF Till; CITY 

Hotel Jefferson. An interesting series of wells is that drilled on high 
ground, near the center of the city and northward, for the three hotels and 
the apartment house named below. All are 8 inches in diameter and range 
in depth from 365 to 702 feet. As the table shows, the depths to water and 

aDarton, X. 11.. Artesian well prospects in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, U. S. 
Geol. Survey, Bull. No. 138, p. 178. 



DEEP WELLS IN CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 



87 



the height of the water level differ considerably, after due allowance is 
made for difference of elevation. The record of the Hotel Jefferson well 
is as follows : 

Record of 445-foot well at Hotel Jefferson. 



Group or 
formation 


Material 


Thickness 


Depth 


Columbia 

Sunderland 


"Drift soil" 


41 

I 

30 
15 

12 

16 

5 

322 


41 




Gravel 


43 


Chesapeake 


Yellow clay 


45 


Calvert 


Black clay 


75 




Sand 


90 




Sand, marine shells and a 
little water 


102 




Blue clay 


118 


Pee-Cambkian 


Soft granite 


123 




Hard and soft granite, 
water at 410 to 438 ft 


445 



The well is said to be cased to 400 feet. The water rises to within 60 feet 
of surface, elevation 180 feet, but to obtain a yield of 60 gallons per minute 
the pump barrel had to be placed near the bottom of the well. The water 
is used at the table and for other purposes about the hotel but not for 
boiler supply. The following analysis, recalculated to express results in 
ionic form, was furnished by the manager. 



Analysis of water from 445- foot well at Hotel Jefferson. 
(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 173 . 

Silica ( Si0 2 ) 38 . 

Iron and aluminum oxides ( Fe 2 3 + A1 2 3 ) 0.5 

Calcium ( Ca ) 30 . 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 8 . G 

Sodium ( Na ) 6.2 

Potassium ( K ) 1.2 

Carbonate radicle (C0 3 ) 51 . 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) not reported 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 33 

Chlorine (CI) 4.5 



Chesterfield Apartments. — At the Chesterfield Apartments well, eleva- 
tion 195 feet, the water, which was found at 230 feet down, stands 150 
feet below surface but the yield is so free that the level is lowered only 
slightly by steady pumping. The apartments in 1906 used no city water at 



88 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

all. The following analysis, recomputed from one obtained from the 
manager, indicates that the well water contains bicarbonates of lime and 
magnesia as principal substances in solution, and considerable silica. 

Analysis of water from 365-foot well at Chesterfield Apartments. 

(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 287 . 

Organic matter 5.9 

Silica ( Si0 2 ) 47 . 

Aluminum ( Al ) 0.5 

Iron ( Fe ) 0.5 

Manganese ( Mn ) 0.17 

Calcium (Ca) 29. 

Magnesium (Mg) 12. 

Sodium ( Na ) 18 . 

Potassium ( K ) 3.7 

Lithium (Li) 0.01 

Strontium ( Sr ) . 24 

Iodine (I) ■ 0.009 

Bromine ( Br ) trace 

Arsenic (As) trace 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) 138. 

Sulphate radicle (S0 4 ) 26. 

Phosphate radicle (P0 4 ) 0.8 

Chlorine (CI) 6.1 

Murphy's Hotel. — At Murphy's Hotel are two wells; one is said to be 
450, the other 702 feet deep. The second well had not been put in service 
when the data for this report were collected. The first well, elevation 175 
feet, struck rock at a reported depth of 125 feet. The water level is given as 
100 feet below surface and the yield as 40 gallons per minute. The well 
is said to be cased for 350 feet, and the pump plunger is at 390 feet. The 
water is used for drinking and cooking, and has been bottled for table and 
medicinal use as Granite Lithia Water; though used in a boiler it is not 
satisfactory for that purpose, foaming somewhat. A series of analyses made 
by Otto Meyer in 1904 showed the presence of radium and traces of several 
rare earths and of tin, copper, and nickel. The principal substances in 
solution, however, seem to be bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium. In 
general the water is much like that from the Chesterfield Apartments well. 
The following analysis, recomputed from that furnished by the analyst, is 
given for comparison. 



"Meyer. Otto, Radium in water from a deep well. Sci. Amer., 1904. 



DEEP WELLS IN" CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 80 

Analysis of Granite Lithia Water; well at Murphy's Hotel. 
(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Determination Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 196 . 

Organic matter . 82 

Silica ( Si0 2 ) 34 . 4 

Aluminum ( Al ) 0.3 

Iron (Fe) 0.31 

Manganese (Mn) . 063 

Calcium (Ca) 21. 

Magnesium (Mg) 9.5 

Sodium (Na) 21.9 

Potassium ( K ) 5.9 

Lithium (Li) 0.015 

Strontium (Sr) 0.10 

Barium (Ba) 0.04 

Iodine (I) 0.002 

Carbonate radicle ( C0 3 ) 70 . 

Phosphate radicle (POJ 0. 19 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 24 . 

Nitrate radicle (N0 3 ) 0. 15 

Chlorine (CI) 6.6 



Richmond Hotel — The well at the Eichmond Hotel, elevation 157 feet, 
struck a crevice yielding a large supply, said to be 300 gallons per minute ; 
the depth to water could not be ascertained from the engineer in charge of 
the plant, but the pump plunger is 250 feet below surface. The water, 
which is used for all purposes, is more mineralized than that from the 
Chesterfield Apartments and Hotel Jefferson wells, containing more soda 
and potash as well as sulphates and bicarbonates. 

Analysis of water from 572-foot well at Richmond Hotel. 
(Froehling and Robertson, analysts.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 702 . 

Silica ( Si0 2 ) 28 . 

Aluminum ( Al ) 1.10 

Iron (Fe) 0.18 

Calcium Ca ) 68 . 

Magnesium (Mg) 30 . 

Sodium (Na) 68 . 

Potassium (K) 29 . 

Lithium (Li) 0.01 

Strontium (Sr) 0.02 

Barium (Ba) 0.05 

Manganese (Mn) 0.03 

Iodine ( I ) trace 

Bromine ( Br ) trace 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) 182 . 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 232 . 

Phosphate radicle (P0 4 ) 0.25 

Chlorine (CI) 63. 



90 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

WELLS IN THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF RICHMOND AND IN OUTLYING 
DISTRICTS TO THE NORTHWEST 

A notable example of the uncertainty that attends the search for water 
in crystalline rocks is presented by three wells 550 to 650 feet deep at the 
Home Brewing Co. brewery, elevation 182 feet. These wells lie in a north- 
east line; the first well (8 inches), sunk in 1894, yields about 60 gallons 
per minute, and the barrel of the deep-well pump is over 400 feet below 
surface though normal water level is about 125 feet below; the second of 
smaller diameter (6 inches), 50 feet northeast of the first, sunk in 1899, 
gave but 5 gallons a minute when completed and has been dynamited several 
times at different depths without any increase in yield; the third (8 inches), 
75 feet southwest of the first, is dry. The supply from the first two wells is 
used for condensing, brewing, and washing, but not in boilers as it scales 
badly. The company furnished an analysis of the water from the first well ; 
this has been recomputed to express results in ionic form. 

Partial analysis of water from 550-foot well of Home Brewing Co. 
(First Scientific Station for the Art of Brewing, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 448 . 

Organic and volatile 20. 

Iron ( Fe ) ' . . . . large traces 

Calcium ( Ca) 62 . 8 

Magnesium (Mg) 12. G 

Sulphate radicle (S0 4 ) 144. 

Chlorine (CI) 24.8 

Nitrate radicle ( NO a ) none 

Nitrite radicle (N0 2 ) none 

In the vicinity of the old State Exposition grounds arc several wells of 
note. One, 8 inches in diameter, at the packing plant of W. S. Forbes, is 
said to be 400 feet deep and to yield, with the pump plunger 340 feet below 
surface, 300 gallons per minute, sufficient for all needs of the plant in 1906. 
The water is said to be remarkably good for boiler supply. A low mineral 
contenl is shown by the following analysis, recomputed from thai furnished 
by the chemist. 



DEEP WELLS IN CKYSTALLHSTE ROCKS. 01 

Analysis of water from deep well of W. $. Forbes. 
(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 92 . 

Organic matter 8.0 

Silica ( SiOo) 15.0 

Iron (Fe) 0.4 

Calcium (Ca) 4.0 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 0.2 

Sodium (Na ) 22 . . 

Potassium (K) not determined 

Carbonate radicle ( C0 3 ) 25 . 

Bicarbonate radicle ( HC0 3 ) not determined 

Sulphate radicle ( SOJ .' 12 . 

Chlorine (CI) 5.3 

A well said to be 385 feet deep at the Eichmond Union Stock Yards, 
about 250 yards east-northeast of the above well, obtained but 5 gallons 
per minute and is said to have been affected by pumping at the Forbes plant. 

Another 8-inch well not far away, that of the Southern Stove Works, 
about 300 feet deep, is said to yield 200 gallons per minute -of an excellent 
boiler water that is used for all purposes about the works. In recomputed 
form, an analysis made by Henry Froehling for the company shows the 
following radicles : 

Analysis "of water from deep well of Southern Stove Works. 
(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 319 . 

Silica (SiO,) 26. 

Iron (Fe) 0.4 

Aluminum ( Al ) 0.3 

Calcium ( Ca) 2.7 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 0.7 

Sodium (Na) 76. 

Potassium ( K ) 3.6 

Lithium ( Li ) trace 

Carbonate radicle (C0 3 ) not determined 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) 183 . 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 17 . 

Arsenate radicle ( As 4 ) trace 

Nitrate radicle (NO s ) 0.8 

Chlorine (CI) 8.5 

Bromine ( Br ) trace 

Iodine ( I ) trace 



92 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Xorthwest of the city, in the vicinity of Ginter Park, several deep wells 
have been sunk which vary in the amount of water obtained. One on the 
estate known as YVestwood went 900 feet, passing through Columbia 
and Chesapeake deposits to 108 feet and through granite below. The 
yield was but 5 gallons per minute; another on the same estate after going 
through 118 feet of sedimentary beds and 350 feet through granite obtained 
50 gallons. At the estate known as "Westbrook a well 306 feet deep obtained 
50 gallons per minute of good water after going through sedimentary beds 
for 96 feet and granite for 210 feet; whereas another well, 322 feet deep, on 
the Bloomingdale Stock Farm, got 25 gallons per minute after passing 
through 123 feet of Coastal Plain deposits and 199 feet of granite. 

The best well in this section supplies Ginter Park. It is 8 inches in 
diameter and 357 feet deep. Granite was struck at 123 feet. In 1906 
about 60,000 gallons daily were pumped from the well for residences and 
for the Union Theological Seminary. The water was tried at a large laundry 
but proved unsatisfactory because of its hardness; it contains a considerable 
amount of sulphates. x\n analysis made for the owner, recomputed to 
express results in ionic form, follows : 

.1 nalysis of water from deep well at Ginter Park. 

(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids . 62G . 

Total scale-forming matter 219.5 

Organic and volatile matter G.6 

Silica (SiO.) 28. 

Oxides of iron and alumina ( Fe 2 8 + AL0 3 ) 1.2 

Calcium (Ca) 55.2 

Magnesium (Mg) 11.1 

Sodium (Na) 128. 

Potassium (K) 8.5 

Chlorine ( CI ) 37 . 

Carbonate radicle (C0 8 ) 87. 

Sulphate radicle (S0 4 j 263. 

Nitrate radicle (N0 3 ) 0. 18 

WELLS SOUTH OF RICHMOND. 

At the works of t lie American Ether Co. just south of the city, a 407- 
foot well on low ground near Almond Creek is said to have gone through 
"earth" for 117 feet and "rock" for 293 feet. Potomac cobble beds and 
soft Bandstonea outcrop nearby in the creek bed, and the greater part of 
the "earth" is probably Potomac material. The well developed a large 



DEEP WELLS IN CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 93 

supply, reported to have been 200 gallons per minute. This water at first 
was good but after some time became remarkably saline, and so corrosive 
that it could not be used even for condensing. The following analysis, 
recomputed from one made by the former chemist of the company, shows 
the unique character of the water: 

Water from Jf-10-foot well of American Ether Co. 
(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 1610 . 

Sand and silica 32 . 

Oxides of iron and alumina ( F 2 3 + A1 2 3 ) 16 . 

Calcium (Ca) 16. 

Magnesium (Mg) 8.9 

Sodium (Na) 580. 

Carbonate radicle ( C0 3 ) 86 . 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 93 . 

Chlorine (CI) 778. 

An 8-inch well at Curie's Neck, 15 miles south of Eichmond, went 
through Coastal Plain deposits to 311 feet, and into granite 414 feet; when 
completed it yielded only 9 gallons per minute. It was dynamited with the 
result that steady pumping for three weeks at the rate of 100 gallons a 
minute lowered the water level only a little. A sanitary analysis made for 
the owner contained these determinations : 

Partial analysis of water from 710-foot well of C. H. Senff at Curie's Neck. 

(J. A. Deghuee, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 234. 

Volatile solids 12 . 

Hardness, equivalent to CaC0 3 , before boiling 6.0 

Hardness, equivalent to CaC0 3 , after boiling 6.0 

Chlorine 37 . 5 



EMPORIA. 

At Emporia on a river terrace 40 feet above sea level, just out- 
side the western edge of the Chesapeake deposits, is an 8-inch, 600-foot 
well sunk for town supply. The well entered granite at 6 feet and struck 
crevices at 62, 370 and 470 feet, the last being the most important. The 
water is reported to stand 10 feet below surface. The supply is said to be 
free; pumping at the rate of 100 gallons per minute lowered the water 20 



94 UNDERGROUND WATEK RESOUKCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

feet. Only 28 feet of casing, it is stated, was put in the well. The quality of 
the water is reported to have been unsatisfactory and the town is supplied 
with river water. 

PROBABILITY OF FINDING WATER BY DEEP WELLS. 

The accompanying list undoubtedly omits some rock wells 200 feet deep 
or over that have been drilled in and near Richmond; but it probably in- 
cludes the majority, and the omissions are chiefly unsuccessful wells. 
Drillers are liable to omit mention of dry holes when telling of the wells 
they have sunk, and some pursue the mistaken policy of claiming, if there 
is a chance of closing a contract at so much per foot with no guarantee as 
to yield, that they can get water anywhere. Owners do not advertise a 
failure and the present holder of a property may have no knowledge of a 
well drilled some years ago. Hence the total number of unsuccessful wells 
is hard to ascertain. The list tabulated, however, is long enough to serve 
as a basis for estimates valuable to persons contemplating deep wells for 
considerable supplies of water at points along the western edge of the 
Coastal Plain where crystalline rocks occur having the general character 
of those near Richmond. The facts are as follows: 

(1). Of the deep wells in crystalline rocks 2 were dry or gave too 
little water to be of use; 7 gave, estimated or measured, 5 to 25 gallons; 16, 
26 to 100; -1, 101 to 200; and 2 over 200 gallons per minute. Or, 5 gave 
5 gallons or less, making the proportion of commercially successful wells 
over 80 per cent. 

(2). Of the 22 more successful wells, 15 or nearly 70 per cent went 
less than 500 feet into "granite" and 1 went less than 200 feet. 

(3). Of the 17 wells yielding 50 gallons per minute or over, 6 were 
on high ground, 6 on low ground, and 5 on hillsides, showing that yields 
bear little relation to the situation of wells. 

ANALYSES OF WATERS FROM W^ELLS IN CRYSTALLINE ROCKS NEAR RICHMOND. 

The following table gives all the available analyses of the wells men- 
tioned ; it includes partial analyses and determinations of chlorine, total and 
volatile solids, and hardness from sanitary analyses. That some of the 
waters may show, when the wells are pumped heavily, a very different com- 
position from that indicated by the table is altogether possible, as the heavy 
pumping of wells in crystalline rocks may modify the circulation of the 
water for a considerable distance. 



Table 3. — Details of Deep Wells m Crystalline Rocks. 



County and 
Place 



DINWIDDIE: 
Petersburg . 



GREENESVILLE 
Emporia 



HENRICO: 
Barton Heights 
Curie's Neck . . 
Ginter Park . . 
G inter Park . . 
Ginter Park . . 
Ginter Park . . 
Ginter Park. . . . 
Richmond .... 
Richmond .... 
Richmond . 



J. B. Worth & Co. 



Richmond 
Richmond 

Richmond 

Richinond 
Richmond 
Richmond 
Richmond 
Richmond 
Richmond 
Richmond 
Richmond 



Richmond 
Richmond 

Richmond 
Richmond 

Richmond 
Richmond 
Richmond 
Richmond 



Richmond 
School . . 



Town 

C. H. Senff 

L. Ginter Land & Imp. Co 
Bloomingdale Stock Co. . . . 

Westbrook" 

"Westwood" 

"Westwood" 

American Ether Co 

Albemarle Paper Co. . . . 
A. D. Atkinson (Richmond 

Hotel) 

Chesterfield Apartment Co 
W. S. Forbes 



W. S. Forbes. 



1906 



1909 
1900 

1898 



Co. 
Co. 
Co. 



Home Brewing 
Home Brewing 
Home Brewing 
Jefferson Realty Co. 
Jefferson Realty Co. 

Kingan & Co 

Kingan & Co 

Murphy Hotel Co. . 



Murphy Hotel Co 

Merchants Cold Storage & 

Ice Co 

Richmond Paper Co 

Richmond Union Stockyards 

Co 

Seaboard Air Line 

Southern Stove Works .'. ... 

Transparent Ice Co 

Virginia State Penitentiary 



1905 
1904 
1903 



Virginia Union University 
Laurel Reformatory School 



1894 
1899 
1899 
1895 
1890 
1893 

1904' 



1901 
1884 

1899 
1900 
1892 
1900 



1905 



200 



60 600 



-= 



470 



370 



315 



200 



100 



40 
100 
166 

25 

50 
5 

....I 50 
20 175 



10 



123 | 
123 I 60 
23 20 



I Mil 



240 



150 125 100 45 



33 I 23 



59 Ice making 



Town supply 



Quality 



Remarks 



Town supply 
Town supply 



Condensing 
Drinking, washing 

Hotel supply 
Drinking, boiler 
Boiler and 

washing 
Boiler and 

washing 
Brewing 
Brewing 



Hotel 

Condensing 

General 

Hotel, medicinal 



Hotel 
Condensing 

Watering stock 

Boiler, drinking 
Ice making 
General 



Hard, irony 



Soft 
Hard 



Hard 
Hard 



Soft 
Corrosive 



Irony 



! Dry hole 

| Not used in 1900 



Fumping 50 gal. p. 
ra. lowers water 
50 feet. 



Dry hole 

Plant idle in 190G 



DEEP WELLS IN CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 



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UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



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DEEP WATEKS OF XORFOLK-NEWPOKT NEWS AREA. 97 

A comparison of the analyses shows that the total solids range from 
66 to 1,600 parts per million; the calcium from 1 to 70 parts; the magne- 
sium from 0.2 to 28 parts ; the sodium from 6 to 580 parts ; the carbonates 
and bicarbonates from 4 to 180 parts; the sulphates from 10 to 260 parts; 
and the chlorine from 4.5 to 780 parts. The differences are explained by 
differences in the underground circulation. 

Changes in quality of the water. — Little can be foretold regarding the 
bacterial purity of the supplies from wells in granite underlying a densely 
populated area. Where the surface drainage is good, the soil cover on the 
rock thick, and the well casing tight, conditions which may obtain at all 
wells on high ground in Eichmond, the danger of contamination is remote. 
But heavy pumping can produce such changes in the circulation of granite 
waters that the waters from wells which are seemingly not exposed to con- 
tamination may be easily polluted. After being in use a year, a deep well 
at Atlanta, Ga., was fouled by impure waters that may have entered the well 
at a depth of several hunderd feet. Hence it is advisable to analyze periodi- 
cally the water of a deep well that is heavily pumped. 

At Eichmond the joint cracks of the granite may be filled either with 
river water, with ground water slightly filtered, or with water that has 
soaked through many feet of stratified material of varying composition. 
These waters may mingle after a relativety short journey under ground, or 
after having passed through a long series of intersecting joints and having 
descended hundreds of feet. A particular well may draw on one crevice or 
a series of connecting crevices, and hence the quality of the water from 
nearby wells may differ greatly. 

An erratic well water, like that of the American Ether Company, 
obviously must be local. Various explanations have been suggested for the 
saline character of somewhat similar waters found in granite. A reason- 
able explanation for the Eichmond area is that sea-water accumulated in 
crevices at a time when the James was salt as far west as the rapids; an 
alternative is derivation from water that did not come from the surface but 
ascended from a great depth in the earth's crust. 

DEEP WATERS OF THE NORFOLK-NEWPORT NEWS AREA 

General statement. — The possibility of obtaining artesian water by deep 
drilling near the mouth of the James first attracted attention 65 years ago 
when Government authorities were looking for something better than 
cistern or shallow well water for the supply of Fort Monroe. Since then 



98 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

wells have been drilled near Fort Monroe ; on Back River, 7 miles north of 
the fort ; at Newport News, 7 miles west ; and in the vicinity of Norfolk, 
from 8 to 15 miles south and southeast. In all, fully 10 wells have been 
put down and not one has been considered a complete success. Some did not 
find flows, some found flows that were too salty for drinking or boiler 
supply, and some found little water. 

Because a great number of successful wells have been drilled elsewhere 
in Tidewater Virginia, and because drillers and others have claimed that it 
is possible to get artesian water in the vicinity of Norfolk and Newport 
News, the questions whether there is a possibility of finding such water and 
why the wells thus far drilled have been unsuccessful merit detailed answers. 
Besides, although Norfolk and Newport News had in 1906 good public 
supplies the number of manufacturing establishments near the mouth of 
James River that may desire to procure for industrial purposes cheaper 
water than that furnished by public service systems is large, and some may 
attempt to find it by deep drilling. As enough work has been done to 
permit definite answers to some questions that would arise in the mind of 
any one investigating artesian possibilities, whether well owner or driller, 
a review of the results of deep work in the Norfolk-Newport News area 
and what these results indicate may save misdirected effort and wasted 
money. In fact, the reason for the failures to get good artesian water- 
about Norfolk was the most important problem that came up for investi- 
gation in the course of the field work for this report. 

Limits of area. — By the term Norfolk-Newport News area is meant 
Elizabeth City County and the south end of Warwick County, which are 
north of James River and Hampton Roads, and the north part of Norfolk 
and Princess Anne counties which lie south and southeast of the mouth of 
the James. The area is thus defined not because its deep wells show features 
which are not presented by wells elsewhere, but because of its population 
(over 75,000) and because it is destined to be of increasing importance as a 
manufacturing district. As has been indicated in the general discussion 
of artesian conditions in the Virginia Coastal Plain and as the accounts of 
work in other counties show, no flows, scanty flows, or highly mineralized 
water seem to be characteristic of the deep wells (more than 400 feet) in a 
considerable area, one that probably embraces most of Norfolk, all of 
Princess Anne County, the east end of Gloucester County, part of Mathews 
Count} r , the east end of Middlesex County, most of Accomac and all of 
Northampton County. 



DEEP WATERS OF ZSTORFOLK-XEWPORT NEWS AREA. 99 

DEEP WELLS NORTH OF JAMES RIVER 

Fort Monroe. — The first deep boring in the Norfolk-Newport News area, 
the first in Tidewater Virginia and one of the first in the entire Atlantic 
Coastal Plain — the first probably being the unsuccessful well at Charleston, 
S. C, sunk in 1823 to a depth of 335 feet — was begun by the Government 
in 1864 to obtain a supply to supplant or supplement the cistern water used 
at the post. A previous attempt, in 1845, had reached a depth of 168 feet. 
In spite of the great advance in the art of well-drilling between 1845 and 
1864, rigs and tools for rapid work in the soft unconsolidated beds of the 
Coastal Plain had not been devised at the latter date, nor were drillers 
generally aware of the troubles that await the man who, skilled in drilling 
rock wells, undertakes with such experience as a guide to sink through 
clays and quicksands. So it is not surprising that the well was abandoned 
in 1869 at a depth of 907 feet. The attempt proved of decided value to 
science, because the samples of the strata penetrated were examined by 
Rogers 0, in 1869 and later by Fontaine and Darton, and the records compiled 
from this study (which have been published by Darton 6 ) gave the first 
information on the total thickness far under cover of the Miocene and 
Eocene deposits in Virginia. Practically, the well was a failure; several 
sands containing water under so low a head that it would not rise to 
surface may have been penetrated, but the only water noted in the record 
was struck in gray sand at 599 feet. This water had head enough to rise 
above the level of the parade ground, 3 feet above tide, but was "very 
saline." 

In the report, dated 1876, by S. T. Abert c on the survey of a line to 
connect the waters of the Cape Pear and Neuse rivers and for a connection 
by water between Norfolk harbor and Cape Fear Eiver appears this record of 
borings 313 feet deep at Fort Monroe. The object of the work is not stated 
and no mention is made of water. 



^Rogers, W. B., Geology of the Virginias, 1885, p. 733. 

&Darton, N. H., Artesian Water Prospects in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. 
U. S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 138, pp. 168-169. 

cTJ. S. War Dept., 44th Congress. 1st Session, Senate Doc. No. 35, p. 16. 



100 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Record of borings at Fort Monroe, Va. 
(Authority, U. S. Engineer's Office.) 



Materials 



Marsh soil 

Fine clean dark sand 

Angular light-colored sand, containing coarse sand, round peb 

bles and mud 

Sand and mud, different layers 

Some stone, sand and mud 

Miocene marl 

(The lowest layer of the last showed some greensand and 

shells, next hard stone full of shells) 

Sand, bluish-gray, mixed with mud 

Same, fragments of shell marl, stone harder 

Softer marl, sky blue 

A note says "fossil shells or continuous marine deposits were 

224 feet in thickness." 




Depth 
(Feet) 

51/2 
18 

28 

40 

45 

245 



261 
270 
313 



A final and decisive attempt to find potable artesian water at Fort 
Monroe was made in 1902. This well, sunk within the fort, started at an 
elevation of about 3 feet, passed through all underlying formations of the 
Coastal Plain, struck crystalline bed rock at 2,240 feet below mean high 
tide, and was sunk in this rock 8 feet, making its total depth 2,251 feet — 
the deepest well in the entire Atlantic Coastal Plain from New York to 
northern Florida. A hydraulic jet rig was used and progress was rapid in 
spite of the large diameter; 15-inch casing was placed at the start and 12- 
inch to 1,200 feet; below 1,200 feet the driller had so little trouble that 
9-inch casing was used down to 2,128 feet; beyond that depth the well was 
not cased. Drilling began January 25, and on April 21 the well was down 
2,200 feet. 

Some samples of borings were saved during the progress of the work and 
the driller noted the general character of the beds. The type of the rig and 
possible errors in labelling the samples make the borings of slight deter- 
minative value, and the driller's notes are not detailed enough to be of value 
in discriminating formations. Hence an accurate record of this well is 
not available. 

According to Capt. C. P. Townsley, U. S. A., while boring was in 
progress nothing could be told about any water bed struck except by casing 
to it and bailing the well. This was done at 1,317 and 2,128 feet, and at 
both depths the water was very salty. Evidences of water appeared at 
1,520, 1,630, 1.915, and 1,939 feet, but were not tested. The head of the 



DEEP WATERS OF NORFOLK-NEWPORT NEWS AREA. 101 

water at 2,128 feet was 20 feet below surface and the yield was so small 
that with an 8-inch boiler 21 feet long the water was easily lowered 1,000 
feet in the 9-inch casing in 10 hours. The most promising horizons between 
1,320 feet and 2,128 feet were at 1,640 feet and 1,915 feet. According to 
another officer, who happened to be at the fort in 1902 and speaks from 
memory, the largest flow found had head enough to just run over the 
casing, elevation about 6% feet above mean tide. Efforts to develop flows 
of potable water at points above 2,128 feet by the use of dynamite proved 
unavailing; in consequence the 12-inch casing down to 600 feet and the 
9-inch down to 1,200 feet were removed and no use whatever has been 
made of this well. 

No quantitative analyses of the water from any flow appear to have 
been made ; if any were, there is no record of them. 

Newport News. — In 1882, the Old Dominion Land Company which 
had undertaken extensive real estate developments at Newport News, began 
a search for artesian water there. Unfortunately drilling began on ground 
31 feet above sea level, so that the prospects for a flowing well, as subse- 
quent work has shown, were not bright. Work started March 9, with a 
standard cable rig. The driller met with many accidents, in repairing 
some of which he had more than average good luck. At a depth of 329 
feet, reached on March 31, it was found impossible to drive the 8-inch 
casing farther; a series of accidents followed the resumption of work 
with 6-inch casing, and after this casing had broken in several places, the 
well was abandoned on July 28, after it had been sunk 582% feet. 



102 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



The following log is compiled from the record preserved by the company. 

Record of well of Old Dominion Land Co., Newport News, Virginia. 
(Authority, Old Dominion Land Co.) 



Material 



Sand "6 kinds" 

Sand and yellow clay 

Sand and hard tough blue clay 

Hard blue clay containing sand with shells; clay, dark blue but 
soft, with few shells at 106 feet 

Blue clay 

Quicksand 

Greenish sandy clay, or marl, with numerous large shells; hard 
bluish sand-rock at 184^ to 186 feet; water below rock 
rose high enough to be seen by looking down pipe 

Greenish or bluish clay, free from sand 

Hard stiff tough blue clay 

Bluish "soapstone" 

Lighter more sandy clay which "changes" at 414 and 420 feet 

Coarse sand; water rose to within 10 feet of the surface 

Shells, stone and sand 

Sand, which rose nearly 150 feet in pipe over night 

Sand with streaks of cement rock 

Sand, clayey towards bottom 

Heavy brownish clay, gravelly towards bottom 

Clay with stones 

Clav and sand 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


18 


18 


15 


33 


36 


69 


37 


106 


19 


125 


7 


132 


121 


253 


253 


270 


69 


339 


70 


409 


14 


423 


3 


426 


2 


428 


9 


437 


18 


455 


38 


493 


14 


507 


39 


546 


36 


582 



Water was struck at two horizons in the Chesapeake group, namely, 
below a rock stratum at 186 feet and in a bed of coarse sand at 422 feet ; 
neither horizon was given a good test; the water in the 422-foot bed rose 
perhaps 21 feet above sea level. It is unfortunate that no note was taken 
of the quality or volume of this water ; it might have yielded a good flow at 
a lower elevation. 

In 1907, H. E. Shimp began a well for the Old Dominion Brewing 
Co. at Newport News, but stopped work at a depth of about 500 feet. 
He did not keep a record of the section shown by the drill, and the samples 
he saved were lost before they could be examined by a geologist. 

Bach River. — A deep well was sunk in 1886 at the site of a contemplated 
fish factory on the tip of the sand spit, known as North End Point, on the 
south side of the entrance to Back Eiver, about 7 miles north-northeast of 
Fort Monroe. This well reached a depth of 1,172 feet; there the drill 
struck a very hard stratum, which the driller thought was granite ; the drill 
rod broke and work was abandoned. The notable thing about this well is 



DEEP WATERS OF NORFOLK-NEWPORT NEWS AREA. 



103 



that no water worthy of mention was found except in two beds of gravel, 
between 1,000 and 1,007 feet, in the Potomac group. Whether water in 
sufficient quantity might have been found by properly testing some of the 
sandy beds penetrated is uncertain. Darton has published the following 
record." 

Record of well at North End Point. 

(Authority, C. C. Knox) 



Material 


Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 

(Feet) 


White sand and gravel 

Blue clay 


75 

5 

20 

30 

25 

10 

5 

15 

12 

162 

1 

17 

1 

7 

55 

70 

18 

2 

5 

1 

29 

1 

4 

8 

165 

7 

6 

3 

16 

18 

27 

7 

8 

65 

80 

155 

5 

10 

2 


75 
80 




100 


Thin layers of sand and blue clay 


130 


Quicksand 


155 
165 


Hard white sand 


170 


Loose white sand 


185 


Black marl 


187 




249 


Bock 


250 


Blue clay 


267 


Stone 


268 


Hard sand 


275 


Hard blue clay 


530 
600 


Quicksand 


618 


Stone or bowlder 


620 




625 




626 


Clay and sand mixed 


695 




696 




740 




748 




913 


Hard blue clav 


920 




926 




939 




955 




973 




1000 


Sandstone with two veins of gravel and some water 

Alternate layers of sand and sandstone 3 to 4 feet thick 

Alternate layers of sand and sandstone 3 to 15 feet thick 


1007 
1015 
1080 
1100 




1155 




1160 




1170 


Hardest kind of stone or granite; 


here 


drill 


rods broke and 


1172 



aDarton, N. H., Artesian Well Prospects in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, U. 
Geol. Survey, Bull. 138, pp. 171-172. 



101 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Another attempt to get water on North End Point was made in 1896. 
R. H. Milligan, the driller, used a hollow-rod, jet outfit and had little 
difficulty in sinking a 3-inch hole 1,035 feet. No water that would flow 
at surface was found, but in conversation with the writer Mr. Milligan 
has stated that he thinks, in the light of his experience with deep wells at 
other points near the shore of Chesapeake Bay, that there are at the 
mouth of Back Eiver deep-lying sands which will yield flows to a well 
sunk with regard to the local conditions. Though this is not impossible, 
the writer is inclined to regard the prospects for obtaining a good flow of 
potable water from depths below 500 feet at North End Point as distinctly 
unfavorable. 

Hotel Chamberlain. — After the unsuccessful attempt in 1861-69 no 
further efforts to get artesian water in the vicinity of Fort Monroe appear 
to have been made until 1896, when a well was sunk at the Hotel Chamber- 
lain. The well started at an elevation of 4 feet above high water, on 
made ground near the sea wall in the rear of the hotel, and reached a 
depth of 945 feet. 

The following record of the well compiled from a study of the borings 
and notes furnished by the contractor and his foreman has been published. 



aWoolman, Lewis, Artesian Wells. Geol. Survey, N. J., Ann. Rept. 1898, pp. 
122-125. 



DEEP WATERS OF XORFOLK-KEWPORT NEWS AREA. 



105 



Record of artesian well at Chamberlain Hotel, Old Point Comfort. 



Material 



Surface sand 

Sand with minute fragments of shells 

Dark gray sand, spines of sea urchins plentiful 

Sand, lighter in color 

Sandy clay with Miocene shells 

Greenish sandy clay 

Sandy clay with Miocene shells 

Greenish sandy clay, a few shells 

Greenish sandy clay, with shells in great number 

Fine dark gray sand, sea urchins spines abundant 

Dark brownish sandy clay, with shells 

Dark greenish clay (marine shells, Miocene age, at 190, 200, 

270 feet) 

Dark greenish clay, more sandy, but without shells 

Dark greenish clay, not so sandy, still without shells 

Dark bluish-green diatomaceous clay 

Dark clay, not diatomaceous 

Dark brownish sandy clay 

Greenish clayey sand, with a large admixture of greensand 

grains and some f oraminif era 

Greenish sandy clay with green sand and f oraminif era 

Brownish sandy clay 

Gray sand, mixture of greensand grains and pure quartz 

grains 

Brownish clayey sand, also contains a mixture of greensand 

and quartz grains 

Calcareous rock crust and pebble conglomerate with some wood 

and shells ^ 

Dark sandy micaceous clay 

Fine gray sand 

Coarse gravel, water-bearing 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


10 


10 


20 


30 


10 


40 


10 


50 


10 


60 


30 


90 


10 


100 


20 


120 


10 


130 


30 


160 


20 


180 


100 


280 


60 


340 


190 


530 


30 


560 


30 


590 


20 


610 


50 


660 


50 


710 


710 


800 


20 


820 


20 


840 


10 


850 


55 


905 


15 


920 


25 


945 



The well gives a rather small flow, inasmuch as the inner casing is 4 
inches in diameter, of the saltest and most mineralized water yielded hy 
any flowing well in the Norfolk- Newport News area. Though the log makes 
no mention of water above 945 feet, it is likely that several sandy beds were 
penetrated which contained water under insufficient head to flow at sur- 
face. The driller gave the estimated yield as 50 gallons per minute a and the 
head as over 17 feet above surface or about 22 feet above sea level. In 
1906, according to the engineer of the hotel power plant, the flow, at 
surface, was "a %-inch pipe full" and the head was 14 feet above tide. 
The flow at 5 feet elevation is certainly not over 25 gallons per minute. 
The water has so much mineral matter in solution that it is not used 
except for flushing; it is too salty for drinking or for boiler use and is so 



aDarton. N. H., U. S. Geol. Survey, Folio No. 80, 1902. 



106 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

iron-bearing that, though perfectly clear when fresh from the well, it soon 
becomes turbid and deposits much ferric hydrate. Hence it is unsuitable 
for bathing or for laundry use. 

The following analysis made in March, 1906, shows that though highly 
mineralized, the flow resembles the excellent water from artesian wells to 
the west in containing much soda and comparatively little lime or mag- 
nesia, in proportion to the total solids. Much of the increased mineraliza- 
tion is probably in the form of common salt, sulphates of soda, potash, 
lime, and magnesia, and iron compounds. 

Analysis of mate?' from 945-foot well at Hotel Chamberlain, Fort Monroe. 

(W. H. Taylor, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000.000 

Total solids 9248 

Silica (SiO,) 14 

Aluminum ( Al ) 23 

Iron (Fe) 16 

Calcium (Ca) 97 

Magnesium ( Mg) 44 

Sodium (Na) 32GS 

Potassium ( K ) 87 

Lithium ( Li ) trace 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO-,) 433 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 2G5 

Chlorine (CI) 4978 

The following sanitary analysis, also made in March 1906, shows some 
additional characteristics of this water: 

Sanitary analysis of water from 945-foot well at Hotel Chamberlain. 
(Penniman and Brown, analysts.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids at 200° F 9145 . 

Volatile solids 188 . 

Chlorine 4940 . 

Nitrogen as free ammonia 1 . 50 

Nitrogen as albuinenoid ammonia . 1(5 

Nitrates trace 

Nitrites none 



DEEP WELLS SOUTH OF JAMES RIVER 

General statement. — In that part of the Norfolk-Newport News area 
south of James River and Hampton Eoads, at least six wells over 200 feet 
deep have been sunk, but detailed records of only two are available. 



DEEP WATERS OF NORFOLK-NEWPORT NEWS AREA. 107 

However, the results of the borings are sufficient to determine the pros- 
pects for getting potable artesian water from deeply buried beds. As will' 
be seen, though no waters are known to have been found as highly miner- 
alized as the flows tapped by the borings near Fort Monroe, particularly 
the Hotel Chamberlain well, the flows all contain large amounts of solids 
in solution, are not what would ordinarily be called good potable water, 
and are not suited for boiler supply. 

Virginia Beach. — One of the earlier borings for deep water in the 
southern part of the area under discussion was made in the winter of 
1888-1889 at the Princess Anne Hotel at Virginia Beach. The elevation 
of the surface was possibly 7 feet. According to F. 0. Clebourne, who 
was at the time in the employ of the company that had the work done, 
the well was sunk 600 feet and found no water below 73 feet. No record 
of the beds penetrated was kept, nor is any information available to show 
whether possible water-bearing beds were properly tested, but it is probable 
that no bed which would have yielded a flow was penetrated. 

Masons Creek. — George S. Bunting states that in 1890, using a hand 
rig, he drilled a l^-inch well 575 feet deep near Masons Creek, a short- 
distance west of the present post-office of Eixton. Mr. Bunting kept no 
record but remembers that he cased the well to 260 feet and drilled from 
there to the bottom without casing. At some point below 260 feet, he 
struck a weak stream which did not give a flow though the elevation of 
the surface is not over 10 feet. A bed of shells was struck at 200 feet and 
shell beds or hard layers were struck at 160, 252, and 500 feet, but from 
260 to 575 feet nearly all the material was fine, bluish sand. 

Money Point. — South of Norfolk, on Elizabeth Eiver, at Money Point, 
two deep wells were bored, but no record of either seems to have been 
preserved. One well has been long abandoned; the other, 562 feet deep, 
is said to flow 30 gallons per minute of brackish irony water at an eleva- 
tion of 5 feet above tide. The flow is not suited for boiler use but is 
reported to be drunk as a mineral water hj some people in the vicinity 
of the well. 

Lambert Point. — In 1891 a well was completed near the pier at the 
Norfolk and Western Railroad terminal on Lambert Point, north of 
Norfolk. The well, which is close to the shore and was drilled for boiler 
supply, reached a reported depth of 616 feet. It struck a strong flow, 65 
gallons per minute, at 610 feet in a coarse micaceous sand; and a weak 
flow, about 1 gallon per minute, at 603 feet in another sand bed. The 



108 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

driller kept a record and saved samples. Eecords compiled from an 
examination of the samples have been published by Darton a and by Wool- 
man. 6 The following log is given in slightly different form. 

Log of well on Lambert Point. 



Material 



Slightly yellowish sand, shell fragments 

Bluish clay, shell fragments 

Gray, fine micaceous sand, shell fragments 

Greenish gray, sandy clay 

Gray micaceous sands 

Greenish gray fine sand and clay; tough when dry (fossil 

shells ) 

Gray or bluish clay 

Gray or bluish fine sand, shell fragments 

Gray or bluish clay 

Gray, fine sand, shell fragments 

Dark gray or bluish clay 

Gray moderately coarse sand, some glauconite 

Small gravel, shell fragments 

Gray or bluish clay 

Hock, shell fragments 

Dark hard fine micaceous sandy clay, well laminated 

Rocky strata with thin layers of clay and shell fragments 

Small gravel in gray sand, shell fragments, water 

Rock, shell fragments 

Gray, fine to moderately coarse micaceous sand, oyster shells 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


17 


17 


27 


44 


139 


183 


8 


191 


42 


233 


31 


264 


22 


286 


69 


355 


22 


377 


20 


397 


10 


407 


19 


526 


8 


534 


23 


563 


1 


564 


4 


568 


35 


603 


3 


606 


4 


610 


6 


616 



In the Norfolk folio of the U. S. Geological Survey Darton gives a 
list of shells and diatoms found in the borings. These show the water- 
bearing sand to be of Upper Cretaceous (Matawan) age. 

The flow from the 610-foot sand was, when tested in 1898, 65 gallons per 
minute through the 6-inch casing at an elevation of 7 feet above surface, 
or 15 feet above mean high tide; the head was about 30 feet above sea 
level. Tests in 1906 showed that the well was yielding 51 gallons per 
minute. The temperature of the flow is 72° F. 

The water is drunk by some employees at the terminal and by many 
people in the vicinity, but while it undoubtedly has medicinal value it is 
rather too mineralized for steady drinking. The prime reason for classing 
the well as unsuccessful, however, is that the railroad company has made 
little use of it except for washing cars and cleaning up around the piers. 
In a boiler the water foams badly and rapidly corrodes stay bolts. It 



aDarton, N. H., Op. cit. p. 172. 

bWoolman, Lewis, Ann. Rept. X. J. Geol. Survey, 1899, pp. 87-92. 



DEEP WATERS OF NORFOLK-NEWPORT NEWS AREA. 109 

probably contains considerable common salt and bicarbonate of soda 
(though no bicarbonates are reported) and some sulphate of soda. It 
contains very little lime. The following analysis was made in 1891 : 

Analysis of water from 616-foot well of Norfolk and Western Railroad, 

Lambert Point. 

(C. W. Shepard, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 1093 . 

Silica (Si0 2 ) 10. 

Oxides of iron and alumina ( Fe 2 3 + AL0 3 ) 0.91 

Calcium ( Ca ) 5.0 

Magnesium (Mg) 1.7 

Sodium (Na) 415. 

Potassium (K) 21 . 

Sulphate radicle (SO*) 43 . 

Carbonate radicle ( C0 3 ) 245 . 

Chlorine (CI) . . 351 . 

Whether better water could have been had by deeper drilling is doubt- 
ful. It is barely possible that water a little less mineralized might have 
been found above 1,000 feet; below that depth, judging from the results 
of other borings, it is likely that the water obtained would have been more 
saline. 

Moore's Bridges. — A well was sunk at Moore's Bridges, 5 miles north- 
east of Norfolk near Diamond Springs post-office, by the Norfolk City 
Water Department in 1890, to a depth of 730 feet; it found salty water. 
The next and the most important well in the southern part of the Norfolk- 
Newport News area was sunk in 1896-98 at Moore's Bridges, to test all 
the water-bearing sands found down to bed rock. A standard cable rig- 
was used. Partly on account of the rig, work progressed slowly, and 
operations were finally abandoned at 1,760 feet below surface, elevation 
about 8 feet above sea level. 

The following log has been slightly changed from the form in which 
it was published by Woolman*. Eeferences to the microscopic organisms 
noted by Woolman are omitted. 



Woolman, Lewis, Ann. Kept. K J. Geol. Survey, 1899, pp. 92-102. 



110 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Record of Norfolk City Well near Watervjay. 



Material 



Light buff sandy loam 

Fine light sand 

Sand, water-bearing 

Bluish clay, fossiliferous 

Bluish clay, not fossiliferous; small streak of gravel at 80 feet 

Gray clayey sand and gravel; scallop shell (Miocene), at 105 

feet 



Gray clayey sand, fossiliferous and containing rather large 
white quartz pebbles at 110 to 115 feet. Rangia cuneata 
shell at 125 feet 

Gray clayey sand, with comminuted shell 

Fine bluish clay, scallop shell (Miocene) at 185 feet 

Gray clay, with much sand; full of shells about 5 inches 



long, boring had to be cased 



Dark greenish sandy clay 

Soft clay which ran into boring 

Greenish gray clay 

Gray sandv clay, very sandy clav had to be cased off, 310- 
320 feet . * 

Light fine less sandy clay 

Light gray fine clay, comminuted shell at 465-475 feet 

Slightly lighter, fine clay, called "brown mud" by driller 

Green sand marl (glauconite) mixed with white quartz sand. . 

Dark greenish clay 

Dark sticky hard clay 

Gray sticky hard clay, with glauconite described by driller 
as "sand gravel and marl" 

Lighter gray sticky fine clay; much comminuted shell at 
715 feet 

Gray sand, small flow of salty water 

Soft sandy clay, with much comminuted shell 

Small gravel ( and clay ) , flow of salty water 

Very sandy greenish clay, micaceous sand, fossil shell Upper 
Cretaceous at 755 feet to 765 feet; water at 740 to 750 feet 

Gray micaceous sand with a little glauconite; flow of water 
at 780 to 783 feeta Upper Cretaceous shell 

White, very light gray, sticky clay 

Gray quartzose sand, some mica, no glauconite; slightly 
salty water, flow 35 gallons per minute at surface, 786 to 
805 feet 

Decidedly darker gray sand, no glauconite 

Lighter gray sand 

Gray very sandy clay 

Black sticky mud (no sample) 

Clayey sands or alterations of gray sands and clays, sands 
micaceous; lignite at 925 and 965 feet, quartz pebbles at 
925-935 feet; slightly salt water; flow 75 gallons per minute 
at 950 feet; 10 gallons per minute at 975 to 980 feet; 15 
gallons per minute at 985 feet 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


3 


5 


13 


18 


3 


21 


44 


65 


20 


85 



20 



20 
40 
85 

10 
25 
20 



65 
70 
135 
45 
10 
30 
20 

20 

23 
2 
5 

10 

20 

18 

9 



30 
20 
35 
20 

8 



93 



105 



125 
165 
250 

260 

285 
305 
310 

375 

445 
580 
625 
635 
665 
685 

705 

728 
730 
735 

745 

765 

783 

785 



815 
835 
870 
890 
898 



991 



aAll sands between 750 and 783 feet are said to have flowed into the well. 
This indicates the sands were loose, but not, as Woolman suggests, strongly water- 
bearing. 



DEEP WATERS OF XORFOLK-XEWPORT NEWS AREA. 



Ill 



Record of Norfolk City Well near Waterway — (Continued) 



Material 



Slightly yellowish (greenish when fresh) sandy clay 

Gray sands, some micaceous, pebbles at 1,060-1,070 feet;flows 
of salt water, 25 gallons at 1.038 feet; 150 gallons at 1,070 
feet 

Gray sands, clayey and micaeous above 1,100 feet 

Darker gray fine to coarse sands, heavy pebbles at 1.130 feet; 
coarse gray sand lignite at 1,160 feet; heavy pebbles and 
water at 1,190 feet, yield of water by bailing 350,000 gallons 
per 24 hours; said to have been fresh at first, afterwards 
salty 

Reddish and reddish yellow or buff clays and clayey sands, 
heavy pebbles at 1,210 feet 

Dark fine clay and micaceous sand ( ?) called "black marl" by 
driller but not a greensand (glaueonite) marl: lignite at 
1,250 feet 

Slightly yellowish-olive somewhat micaceous sand; "some 
water" 

"White marl" (no sample) 

Reddish yellow and gray clays and sandy clays called "red 
marl," but not glaueonite; fossil shell (Upper Cretaceous) 
reported from 1,320 feet 

Alternations of sands (micaceous 1,320-1,340 feet; not micaceous 
below) and clayey sands varying from white or light gray 
to yellowish in color; heavy pebbles at 1.470-1,480 feet and 
1,540-1.570 feet. Clay beds (no samples), 1,356-1,358 feet; 
1,400 to 1,410 feet; 1,557-1,560 feet; 1,568-1,571 feet; lignite 
at 1,500 feet; salt water, good flow at 1,480 feet; flows at 
1,510-1,517 and at 1,535 feet 

Dark slightly variegated clay 

Reddish or slightly reddish coarse sands and clayey sands; 
beds of clay (no samples) probably not glauconitic but 
bluish when wet, at 1,640-1,647 feet; 1,650-1,654 feet; 1,677- 
1,680 feet 

Dark coarse very sandy clay, slightly variegated with red, 
similar to that from 1,580-1,600 feet, but more sandy : 
probablv dark clay beds at 1,683-1,685 feet and 1,693- 
1,695 feet 

Reddish variegated clay 

Loose sand which ran up 150 feet in casing; evidently water- 
bearing ( no sample ) 



Thickness 
(Feet) 



42 



45 
32 



30 

40 

25 

35 

5 

35 



250 
20 



80 



20 

42 

20 



Depth 
(Feet) 



1.033 



1.078 
1.120 



1.190 
1.230 

1.255 

1,290 
1,293 

1.330 



1,580 
1,600 



1.680 



1,700 
1,742 

1.762 



Darton* states that water beds were found at 783, 805, 950, 975, 984, 
1,038, 1,072, 1,190, 1,220, 1,227, and 1,480 feet, and at the bottom, which 
yielded from 10 to 150 gallons per minnte under the pump. One or two 
of the beds may have given more but no flow of fresh water was struck. 
The water from the 1,190-foot bed did not quite overflow; at 1,220, 1,227, 
and several points below small volumes of salt water were found, and at 



oDarton, N. H., Geologic Atlas of United States, Norfolk Folio, No. 80, p. 4. 



112 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

1,480 feet a large volume of very salt water. Twelve-inch casing was used 
to 778 feet, 10-inch to 1,208 feet, 8-inch to 1,539 feet, 6-inch to 1,730 feet, 
and 41/2-inch to 1,750 feet. 

The well was dynamited at 1,072 feet and possibly at other points, and 
nothing definite is known of the source of the present flow. It is supposed 
to come from about 680 feet but the temperature indicates a greater 
depth. The yield amounts to 75 gallons per minute through a 4%-inch 
pipe, the well mouth being 11 feet above tide. The flow, said to have a 
head of 20 feet, has a temperature of 76° and a decided sulphur odor, 
is saline and contains sodium bicarbonate as shown by the following field 
assay made by the writer in November, 1906. 

Field assay of water from deep well at Norfolk City pumping station. 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Iron ( Fe ) trace 

Calcium ( Ca ) little 

Chlorine (CI) '. 1,000. 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO s ) 620 . 

Sulphates, as S0 4 110 . 

Total hardness, as CaC0 3 7.5 

A sample collected in November, 1904, and analyzed by Dr. Sheperd, 
city bacteriologist of Norfolk, contained 920 parts of chlorine per 1,000,000. 

Had the well been sunk deeper, even to bed rock, the probabilities are 
that all water found would have been more saline than that struck at 
1,072 feet. In fact salinity apparently increased with depth. The sodium 
chloride content for three flows, from partial analyses made while drilling 
was in progress, as given by Darton in the Norfolk folio of the Geologic 
Atlas of the United States, compare thus : 

Sodium chloride and total solids in deep waters from Norfolk City well. 

(Henry Froehling, analyst) 
Parts per 1,000,000 

Flow Total mineral matter Sodium chloride 



730 feet 2,578 1,920 



1,038 
1,070 



3,345 2,723 

3,652 2,S30 



Jn 1906 the flow ran into the clear water basin at the pumping station. 
There is of course not the slightest possibility of the well water being 
polluted. 



DEEP WATERS OF XORFOLK-XEWPORT XEWS AREA. 113 

COMPARISOX OF RECORDS. 

The scanty observations recorded by some drillers and the varying terms 
nsed in describing what were probably similar deposits makes correlation 
of the well records difficult. Samples saved from the wells at Fort Monroe, 
Moore's Bridges and Lambert Point were examined by Woolman and by 
Darton and the records prepared by them were based largely on the samples. 
The best series were from the Hotel Chamberlain and Norfolk City wells. 
In all except the Norfolk City well water-bearing beds may have been 
passed which were not noted by the driller. 

A comparison of the records shows that the Chesapeake group in the 
Norfolk-Newport News area, considering its thickness, is very poor in 
water-bearing beds. There is one midway in it at the last well at Fort 
Monroe, one at the base in the old well, and one near the base at the 
Money Point well. The Pamunkey is thin and unimportant. Water was 
found near the top in the last Fort Monroe well and probably at Newport 
News. Upper Cretaceous beds proved prolific water carriers at the Hotel 
Chamberlain. Fori Monroe (1902), Lambert Point, and the Norfolk City 
wells. The Potomac group at Fort Monroe was fully 900 feet thick, and 
contained many water beds. 

The least mineralized water found below 200 feet by any well is the 
Lambert Point flow, which according to the 1891 analysis contained 1,091 
parts per million of total solids of which 518 parts per million, according 
to a hypothetical combination given bj the analyst, were sodium chloride. 
In comparison, the 738-foot flow of the Norfolk City well, which is presum- 
ably from the same group of beds though not necessarily from the same 
horizon, contained 1,923 parts per million of sodium chloride. Here is a 
decided increase of salinity in a distance of 10 miles eastward, a fact in 
harmony with the general increase of mineralization of deep waters toward 
the ocean, elsewhere noted. The Lambert Point well is the farthest west 
of the wells in the Norfolk-Newport News area south of James River, its 
water is least mineralized and comes from the Upper Cretaceous at a depth 
of only 616 feet. These details are important. 

The results obtained from the work here noticed indicate that it is 
altogether probable that waters found between 500 and 700 feet at New- 
port News will be less saline than those from beds of corresponding age 
at Fort Monroe and in character will approach the Lambert Point flow. 
North of James River the best chances for finding flows of potable artesian 
water near Newport News are at elevations less than 20 feet and at points 



114 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

west of a north and south line running through that city; eastward, 
probabilities rapidly become unfavorable and in the eastern part of Elizabeth 
City County deep drilling will probably prove a waste of time and money. 
South of James River the best prospects are west of a north-north- 
west line through Lambert Point with diminishing chances of success 
eastward. In Princess Anne County efforts to get good water by deep 
boring will, in all probability, be of no avail, and within the city limits 
of Norfolk there are small chances of getting water better than the Lambert 
Point flow at depths below 500 feet. 

CAUSES OF MINERALIZATION. 

The Norfolk-Newport News area, as previously stated, is not ex- 
ceptional in the character of its deep waters. In fact it forms part 
of a much larger area which may include the whole Eastern Shore 
of Virginia and certainly extends south and east into northeastern North 
Carolina. The possible causes of the high mineralization, saltness, 
and other characteristics of the deep waters of this large area will not be 
discussed here. It is enough to say that the saltness is not due to sea 
waters included in the beds when first deposited, since the flows do not 
resemble sea water in composition, and there are salt flows from Potomac 
formations, which are not marine. The increased mineralization probably 
results from several causes. One is difficult circulation due to the 
decreased permeability of the water beds down the dip; for horizons which 
yield bountiful flows farther west are not water-bearing in this area and 
at some localities, as at Back Eiver, water-bearing beds seem to be lacking 
through 1,000 feet of strata. At the same time, since coarse sands yielding 
free flows, under good heads, of water too saline for boiler use have been 
encountered, the texture of the beds can not be the sole factor. Besides 
increased fineness of sediments, or pinching out of water beds locally or to 
seaward (causing slow circulation and ponded water), the more effective 
factors have been long confinement under pressure and, particularly, the 
invasion of salt water from up the dip in times when the coast was 
depressed below its present level. Corresponding beds to the west have 
been more flushed by downward percolating rain water since the last 
elevation, hence now contain relatively fresh water. 

FRESHENING OE DEEP WATER. 

Thai wells which yield saline water may. by heavy pumping or unre- 
stricted tlow. come to yield fresh water is a possibility thai has attracted 



DEEP WATERS OE NORFOLK-NEWPORT NEWS AREA. 115 

the attention of geologists. Instances of freshening have been reported 
but whether or not the improvement was due to the replacement of the 
contained salt water in the water bed by fresh water from up the dip can 
not always be determined from the evidence available. Fuller noted some 
instances of a change from salt to fresh water in wells near the mouth of 
Cape Fear Kiver, N. C, and concluded that the freshening represents such 
a replacement. 

In objection to this view it may be said that a well might penetrate a 
bed containing salt water and one containing fresh. In such a well the 
yield of the water beds, the heads of the water they contain, the tightness 
of the well casing, and the possible clogging of the well at one horizon 
by sand, are factors that would determine the quality of the water obtained. 

Permanent freshening with no marked decrease in flow has not been 
observed, so far as known at any well in the Norfolk area, but it is possible 
that there has been a very slight decrease in the mineralization of the 
water from the Lambert Point well, though analyses extending over a 
period of 18 years, during which time the well has flowed without restraint, 
show little betterment. A marked decrease in mineralization and in 
volume of flow was noted in June, 1909, but after the flow was restored 
by cleaning out the well its quality was substantially the same as before. 
The important determinations, total solids and chlorine, are given below: 

Variations in mineralization of water from Lambert Point well. 

(Parts per 1,000 5 000.) 



Date 



1891 

1906, Dec. 15 
1909, June 17 
1909, July 6.. 




Chlorine 

350 

290 

23 

290 



The freshening of the water in June, 1909, was evidently due to the 
main flow being cut off or greatly reduced by sand; the quality of the 
water as shown by the analysis dated June 17, given in table 10, is 
not at all like that of any deep well in the Norfolk-Newport News 
area, but resembles that from wells less than 200 feet deep. There was 
evidently no detectable change in chlorine content between 1906 and 1909; 
the indicated change between 1891 and 1906 rests on a single analysis, 
and is not large enough to be entitled to much consideration. Making 



^Fuller, M. L., Instances of Improvement of Water in Wells, U. S. Geol. Survey, 
Water Supply Paper, 160, pp. 96-99. 



116 UNDEBGBOUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

allowances for differences in analytical methods and in statements of 
results by different chemists, the variation in chlorine content between 
1891 and 1909 is so small that one may fairly assume that it would not 
pay to drill a well to a known salt-water horizon in the Norfolk-Newport 
News area in the hope that by unrestricted flow the water would become 
fresh enough for boiler use. 

SUMMARY. 

(1). In the Norfolk-Newport News area the prospects for obtaining 
good boiler water by deep drilling are poor. 

(2). The chances of obtaining such water improve west of Newport 
News and Elizabeth Eiver. 

(3). Mineralization increases toward the east and with depth. 

(4). Better water is found above 1,000 feet than below. 

(5). The high mineralization of the deep waters has been caused by 
factors affecting a large extent of country. 

(6). A flow of salty water may become fresher by allowing the water 
to run without hindrance, but in this area the decrease in salinity is too 
gradual to be worth consideration in determining the sinking of a deep 
well as a business venture. 



UNDERGROUND WATER SUPPLIES BY COUNTIES 

ACCOMAC COUNTY 

General description. — Accomac is the larger of the two counties covering 
the Virginia portion of what has long been known as the Eastern Shore, 
the peninsula between Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. The county 
is about 45 miles long by 15 wide and has an area of 478 square miles. 
Although in 1900 but two counties in the state had a larger population per 
square mile, there was not within the county in that year a settlement with 
a population of over 1,000 people. The two incorporated towns, Onancock 
and Bellehaven, had populations of 938 and 331. 

The surface has slight relief and is monotonously level. Except in 
some small areas, elevations are below 25 feet, hence the surface is mostly 
part of the Talbot terrace. a 

There are few fresh water streams of any size or even stream valleys. 
Along the ocean side and on many stretches of the bay side are wide expanses 
of salt marsh or land flooded at high spring tides. The ocean side is 
characterized by many off-shore sandy islands of the barrier beach type, 
of which Chincoteague is the most important. Back of these islands are 
shallow bays where miles of mud or sand flats lie bare at low tide. 

The surface soil, a light warm sandy loam, is in many places under- 
lain by from 2 to 6 feet of buff or light-brown sandy clay and this in 
turn by a varying thickness of coarse white, gray, yellowish or occasionally 
brownish sand that contains scattered lenses of gravel and thin beds of 
light-colored clay with darker beds below. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS 

Distribution and quality, — The Eastern Shore term for a water-bear- 
ing horizon is a spring, and drillers speak of the first, second, third, and 
fourth "springs" found at such and such depths; the "first spring" being 
at the water table. The fluctuations of the water table from rainfall are 
spoken of as the rise and fall of the "springs" and on Chincoteague Island 
one is told that "the water springs" (stands higher) in shallow wells after 
wet weather. The "first spring" is in the yellow Columbia sands. As a 
rule, the second, third and fourth "springs" are in the beds that underlie 



oThe author believes that the terrace here termed the Talbot is in large part 
to be correlated with the Pamlico of North Carolina. 



118 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

the yellowish or reddish beds of the Columbia, though in places the second 
"spring" is the sand and gravel at the base of the light or bright-colored 
beds, separated from the first "spring" by clays or loams yielding little 
or no water to a driven well. 

The first "spring," the water not being confined, affords no flowing 
wells, though shallow dug wells in hollows may be full to overflowing after 
prolonged rains. The "springs" below, the water being confined under 
relatively impervious beds of clay yield in many places flowing wells at low 
elevations. 

The quality of the underground water varies. Nearness to inlets 
from the sea or bay is an important factor in the quality of supplies. In 
general, the water from dug wells or from pumps driven to the first "spring" 
does not contain as much lime or magnesia as that from the second or 
third spring; it is also less alkaline. On the other hand, it is rather more 
likely to be iron-bearing. Probably the best water for general use comes 
from 50 feet or more- below surface. Along the coast and on the islands 
many shallow wells yield brackish water and many are salted by unusually 
high tides. Wells 25 to 200 feet on small islands are more apt to yield 
brackish water than those on the mainland. 

Springs. — There are no true springs of commercial importance. In 
places water seeps from the creek banks at points where the water table 
curves down to the creek; such springs often disappear in dry weather. 
There are, however, springs of perennial flow and a few are used for house- 
hold supply. What is said to be the largest spring in the county flows 
from the foot of a bluff on the shore of Chincoteague Bay, 2 miles north 
of Sinnickson. Another spring at Drummonds Mill, near Grape post-office, 
was once of local repute because its iron-bearing waters were believed to 
have medicinal value. 

Wells. — The commonest type of well is a shallow hole dug to the "first 
spring/ 5 The deepest dug wells are near Assawoman, where some go 40 
feet to water, but the depth of the average dug well in the county is about 
10 feet. Buckets with chain or rope, or windlass or pulley, lift the water 
from the well. Here and there are wells with the old-time sweep and 
bucket. The perishable nature of wood casing and the many sanitary 
objections to it have led to the introduction of tile, 20 to 24 inches in 
diameter. The labor cost of digging a well varies according to the depth 
to water, but seldom exceeds $5. 

Driven wells or "pnmps" as they are called, are easily sunk, much 
used, and give satisfaction. Wells to the "first spring" are often put 



ACCOMAC COUNTY. 119 

down by the owner, a piece of l^-inch or 2-inch pipe with a pointed cap 
being driven by a maul; if the clay snbsoil is tough, a hole may be bored 
through it with an earth auger. Many wells over 20 feet deep are sunk by 
the jet process, as are nearly all wells over 50 feet deep. Most drillers use 
hand-power rigs, though the driller who has done the most work in the county 
has a small gasoline engine. Probably no county in Tidewater Virginia 
has more driven or drilled wells 50 to 100 feet deep. Their usual diameter 
is 1% to 2 inches. For such wells hand-power pumps, either iron pitcher 
pumps, wood pumps, or force pumps, are generally employed, though many 
residences have wind mills. One driller in 1906 gave the following as his 
usual charges for putting down driven wells, or, as it is called, "cutting 
pumps/' 

10-foot well \ P it( * er P Um P $* 

I wood pump $12 

on £ j. n ( W00d DUllip $20 

30-foot well < £ r r £ 

I force pump $22 

rA j. , ,, ( wood pump $30 

50-foot well < * f f r> 

( force pump $32 

100-foot well, no pump, about $75 

This driller has sunk a 103-foot well and finished it with a pitcher 
pump for $50. It is usually understood that the owner will furnish free 
such extra labor as a driller may need. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES 

New Church. — At this village near the northern line of the county, dug 
or driven wells to the "first spring" average 12 to 15 feet deep. The 
water is generally hard. In some wells it is so iron-bearing that it 
is not fit for laundry use, while in others it contains little iron. The 
"second spring" from 30 to 35 feet, is also decidedly iron-bearing in 
most wells. The "third spring" has been developed by two wells, both of 
which yield excellent water. One of these, owned by J. E. Johnson, is 125 
feet deep and draws on water in a bed of shells in dark bluish sand; 
this water rises to within 4 feet of surface. An ordinary pitcher pump 
easily supplies 8 gallons per minute. The record of the beds penetrated 
is as follows : 



120 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Record of well of J. E. Johnson, near post-office at New Church. 
(Authority, I. B. Clark, driller.) 



Material 



Depth 
(Feet) 



Soil 1 1 

Pipe elay ( light gray clay) 7 8 

Yellow sand, small pebbles and gravel with plenty of water 

of poor quality, "first spring" C> 14 

Blue mud V 30 44 

Sand, a little water, "second spring" 3 47 

Blue mud 73 120 

Dark, bluish sand with small shells, excellent water, "third 

spring" 5 125 

The owner has at his saw-mill nearby a well to the "second spring 7 ' 
which yields a fair boiler water, and a well to the "first spring" at his store. 
Results of field tests of samples from a 12-foot driven pump and the 135- 
foot well at J. E. Johnson's store, and the 34-foot well at the mill, made by 
H. X. Parker, are given in table 7, to show how great are local variations 
in quality. 

The tank of the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad is sup- 
plied by a pump drawing from eight 2-inch points driven 30 feet, or to 
the "second spring." These yield fairly good boiler water. 

Franklin City and Qxeenbachville. — These villages are on or near a 
strip of salt marsh bordering Chincoteague Bay. At Franklin City there 
are no dug wells as the town site is inundated at high tides. Pumps to 
the "first spring" yield brackish water. Fairly good water, which rises to 
mean high tide level, is obtained by driving 30 to 70 feet. 

At Greenbackville, where fresh water is found at 6 feet and even less, 
pumps are driven 10 to 45 feet and obtain water of varying quality. 
That from some wells is high in iron, lime, and chlorine; that from others 
is less mineralized. The water tank of the New York, Philadelphia & 
Norfolk Railroad is supplied by three driven wells 25 feet in depth, which 
are said to yield a sufficient supply of satisfactory boiler water. At a can- 
ning factory nearby, water is obtained by wells driven 15 feet. One well 
was driven 80 feet but obtained no water below 50 feet. In the thickly 
sell led portion of the village the "first spring" at 5 to 15 feet, supplies 
most pumps, but is regarded by local physicians with suspicion on account 
of possible pollution from stables and privies; much of the water obtained 
at 10 to 12 feet is iron-bearing and brackish. According to T. F. Mumford, 
who has driven many well-, excellent water is obtained from some wells 



ACCOMAC COUNTY. 



121 



not over 40 feet deep, while others yield water containing considerable 
quantities of mineral salts, chiefly composed of lime, iron, and sodium. 
Dr. H. C. Mallory gave the writer samples of residue obtained by 
evaporating water from three wells at Greenbackville : Those of Elihu 
Tull, 18 feet; James Chapman, 22 feet; and J. T. Sharpley, 45 feet. 
These were qualitatively analyzed by E. B. Dole, assistant engineer of the 
Water Eesources Branch of the U. S. Geological Survey, with the follow- 
ing results: 



Analyses of residue from well waters at Greenbackville, Va. 



Silica 

Iron 

Calcium . . 
Magnesium 
Sodium . . 
Potassium 
Sulphates , 



E. Tull 



high 

high . . . 

hiyh 

high 

moderate 

low 

moderate 



J. Chapman 


J. T. Sharpley 


moderate 


moderate 


moderate 


low 


moderate 


low 


low 


low 




trace 


low 


moderate 


low 


low 



Field tests of samples from the wells of Elihu Tull (18 feet) and J. T. 
Sharpley (45 feet) at Greenbackville, and James Chapman at Franklin 
Citj, showed notable variations in mineralization. (See table 7.) 

Drillers charge about $25 for a 40-foot well and $35 to $70 for a 70- 
foot well. 

Cliincoteague. — Chincoteague Island and its larger neighbor, Assateague, 
are growing in popularity as summer resorts and are known to many sports- 
men for the duck-shooting on Chincoteague Bay and its connected inlets. 
The village of Chincoteague has a summer population of over 1,500, and the 
question of water supply is of increasing importance. Both islands are low 
and sandy — a succession of beach ridges under 10 feet high, except for a few 
small dunes that may rise above 15 feet. On Chincoteague water is obtained 
from dug and driven wells 3 to 14 feet deep, the best water being found in 
white sand in the higher parts of the island. Only two attempts to find 
water at greater depth, previous to 1906, are reported. James Williams 
drove 70 feet on the outskirts of Chincoteague village some years ago 
without result, and the United States government attempted to get deep 
water at the lighthouse on Assateague. This last trial was abandoned when 
a pipe had been driven to a reported depth of 135 feet. 

The quality of the water from the dug and driven wells varies consider- 
ably, and is said to be better after a long spell of wet weather than during 



122 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OE COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

a drought. The water level in the interior of the islands fluctuates a couple 
of feet with the seasonal variations of rainfall, and when the "springs are 
low" in dry weather many wells yield brackish water. 

In the village of Chincoteague driven wells are almost the sole source 
of supply, not over 25 cisterns being reported in use in 1906. Near the 
water front many wells have been salted by unusually high tides. Much of 
the well water is highly colored by iron or organic compounds, but there is 
great irregularity in this respect — the water from wells less than 20 feet 
apart differing decidedly in appearance. A sample said to represent a fair 
average of the wells in town was taken from a tank at the store of D. J. 
Whealton. This water is drawn by a wind pump from three points driven 
14 feet. The results of a field test are given in table 7. 

As the demand for domestic purposes is increasing, and present sources 
of supply at Chincoteague are not altogether satisfactory, the possibility 
of getting better supplies by wells deeper than any yet sunk calls for 
investigation. However, it is not likely, in view of what is known regard- 
ing the deep flows of the mainland, that good water will be found at great 
depths, 1,000 feet or more; and the prospects for potable water between 
100 and 1,000 feet are not promising. a 

With ordinary precautions against pollution the driven pumps now 
used will suffice for isolated dwellings. The use of water from surface 
ponds near dwellings for "drinking" (floating) oysters is decidedly objec- 
tionable. 

Wells on the bay side at Saxis, Belinda, 2Iars]i Market, and Grotons. — 
A large number of wells have been driven near Saxis, Belinda. Marsh 
Market, Grotons, and Justisville and a few of these flow. Details regard- 
ing some appear in table 5. The supplies are in some places excellent and in 
• tliers so hard and iron-bearing as to be unsuited for household use. One 
well on the steamboat pier at Saxis found water in a bed of coarse gravel 
under 2 feet of bluish sand indurated enough to be called rock by the driller. 
The record is as follow-: 

Well of Baltimore, Chesapeake & Atlantic Steamboat Co., at Saxis. 

(Authority. I. 15. Clark, driller.) 



Material 


Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 


Wilier 




87 
2 
o 


6 


Blue mud 


93 


Bluish rock 


95 


Gravel, with pebbles as large as marbles, water-bearing 


97 



"A dec]) well i- reported to have been drilled in 1910 for a projected fish factory 
on Assateague Island. The depth of the well and the quality of the water found 
are not know n to the writer. 



ACCOMAC COUNTY. 123 

The water, which is of good quality, rises to tide level. 

At a saw mill half a mile east of Belinda belonging to Koss & Hall, 
two li/2-inch wells were driven, 44 and 46 feet respectively, to the "second' 
spring" to get enough water for a 50-horse power boiler. The water was 
hard and formed scale. Wells to the "first spring," 8-10 feet, did not get 
water enough. Half a mile northwest of Belinda a well was driven to the 
"third spring" finding water in a bluish gray sand containing small bivalve 
shells. Those washed up by the drill were not identifiable. 

A well at the oyster house of M. L. Hall on the outer edge of a wide 
strip of marsh facing Mesango Creek was driven 64 feet, stopping on 
"rock." It yields brackish water high in iron that is used for washing 
oysters and has been tried in a boiler. An 84-foot well at Belinda post- 
office found water which rose to above tide level, but contained so much 
iron as to be unfit for domestic use. 

At the mill of J. A. Hall at Marsh Market a 2-inch well driven 92 
feet struck water which rose to 4 feet above tide or 1 foot below the surface. 
The yield was insufficient and a 1%-inch well had to be sunk to the sands 
at 48 feet to get water enough for a 50 horse-power boiler. 

Wells on the bay side farther south. — Farther south on the bay side of 
the county a considerable number of flowing wells, ranging in depth from 
36 to' 160 feet, have been sunk along Muddy, Hunting, Deep, Chesconnessex, 
Onancock, Pungoteague, and Nandua creeks, there being probably 30 on 
Hunting Creek alone. As a rule these wells yield good Avater which may 
have (when fresh from the well) a faint odor of sulphur; in places the 
water is slightly hard and iron-bearing. Details of many wells are given 
in table 5. 

A well on Muddy Creek near Mearsville showed the following succession 
of materials : 

Record of well of W. J. Somers, one mile south of Mearsville. 
(Authority, I. B. Clark, driller.) 



Material 



Soil 

Sand ■ 

Blue mud 

Bluish sand, poor water 

Blue mud 

Sand with small shells, good water. 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


1 


1 


4 


5 


75 


80 


4 


84 


33 


117 


1 


118 



This l^-inch well, according to the driller, flows at an elevation of 6i/> 
feet above tide 1% gallons per minute. 



124 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Between Chesconnessex and Deep creeks, where the ground is so low 
that shallow wells are liable to be salted by high tides, several deep wells 
have been driven yielding water of fair quality. The following succession 
of beds was reported from a well near Deep Creek : 



Record of well of Bailey East, one-half mile north of Chesconnessex. 
(Authority, Bailey East, driller.) 

Material 



Soil 

Yellow sand 

Black, bluish, and slate-colored marsh mud 

Bluish gray sand ; a little water 

Loam with smooth pebbles, yellow, gray, black and white; 

water at base 

Bluish sand, water at base 

Coarse gravel, no large stones; water 

Bluish sand, with shells at 95-99 feet; water at 37 and 100 feet 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


1 


1 


19 


20 


19 


39 


1 


40 


3 


43 


32 


75 


4 


79 


58 


137 



The water from all the four "springs" rose to the level of mean high tide, 
or within 18 inches of it, and is slightly irony. 

Onancock, on Onaneock Creek, has a public supply system, but most 
persons get water from driven wells, many of which go only to the "first 
spring" at 16 feet. In 1906, seven 2-inch wells at the town waterworks 
reached various depths — two 16 feet, two 30 feet, and three 50 feet. They 
were fitted with slotted brass strainers and were, except one, connected to a 
triplex pump driven by a ? horse-power gas engine that lifted the water to 
a 50,000-gallon tank on a steel tower 65 feet high. The wells are driven 
over a roughly circular area 90 feet in diameter, about 18 feet above mean 
high tide. The head of the water in the points is said to be about 5 feet 
above tide. In addition, water is pumped from a dug well 20 feet in 
diameter and 16 feet deep, in which one of the points to the 50-foot sand is 
driven. The yield from the driven wells is small and much of the water 
used oomes from the dug well, which serves both as well and reservoir. 
The total yield'is given as 35 gallons per minute. 

The following record of one of the pumping-plant wells was given from 
memory : 



ACCOMAC COUNTY. 



125 



Record of well at waterworks, Onancock. 
(Authority, F. A. Merrill, driller.) 



Material 


Thickness 

(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 


Soil 


1 
3 

12 
14 

5 
15 

5 


1 


Red clav 


4 


Yellowish sand at base, gravel containing pebbles one-half 
inch in diameter; water-bearing 


16 




30 
35 

50 


Coarse gray sand with pebbles up to one-half inch; water 


55 



A field assay of water drawn directly from the points, and another, by 
H. N". Parker, of water presumably taken from the dug well are given in 
table 7. 

The water is nsed in the boiler of vessels belonging to the State oyster 
navy and in those of steamers running to Baltimore. The bacterial 
purity of the supplies from the 50-foot bed should be unquestionable but 
in 1906 contamination of the open well was possible. 

In 1906, about one-third of the estimated population, 1,200 people, used 
this water, the remainder getting supplies from driven wells 16 to 25 feet 
deep. The yield of the 25-foot wells was said to be small, but the water 
was pronounced yoyj good. 

Several attempts to supply the town from other wells than those now 
used have been made and two deep wells have been sunk without success. 
One drilled in 1890 by H. K. Shannahan found water at 90 and 140 
feet, and more below to a depth of 486 feet. The casing was broken in an 
attempt to withdraw it, and the water from the 140-foot sand which rose 
nearly to surface was used for a few } r ears by means of a wooden pump. 
The yield was 5 to 10 gallons per minute. The water was not liked because 
of its "sulphur 7 " odor and the well has been abandoned for years. Another 
well was sunk in 1895 to about 600 feet without getting a satisfactory 
supply. 

The following incomplete log of the well drilled by Mr. Shannahan 
is from that published by Darton. a 



aDarton. X. H.. Artesian well prospects in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. U. S. 
Geol. Survey, Bull 138, p. 131. 



126 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Partial record of well at Onancock 



Material 



No record 

Shells in gravel and sand 

No record 

Fine sand ; no water 

Hard rock 9 inches: clay 2 inches; rock 5 inches: clay 5 inches 

Clay and sand 

Clav and sandv clav 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


150 


150 


25 


175 


5 


180 


25 


308 


2 


310 


23 


333 


147 


480 



The 50-foot sand tapped at the waterworks is reported to be water- 
bearing and to yield no water within short distances. The flowing well of 
H. L. Hurst, on the edge of the creek, 50 yards from the waterworks, is 
only 34 feet deep and evidently taps this sand. 

At Finney, back of Onancock, are several wells over 50 feet deep. The 
83-foot well of W. T. Rogers, according to the owner, went through hard 
black mud from about 50 to 75 feet, below that dark sand, and below that 
light sand containing half-inch pebbles. The water does not rise 3% feet 
above tide. The head is greatest at high tides or when nearby marshes are 
flooded after heavy rains. In the springhouse, at the well, are two cement 
basins from one of which the water is pumped by wind power to a tank.. 
The water fresh from the well, though perfectly clear, has a slight "sulphur" 
odor; that from the tank is odorless. 

At Cashville, south of Onancock, a number of wells from 80 to 100 feet 
deep have been sunk. The following record is reported. 



Record of well of S. Crockett, on Masitank Creek. 
(Authority, Bailey East, driller.) 

Material 



Depth 
(Feet) 



Soil, clav and sand 

Mud 

Blue sand 

Blue sand and clam shells 




This well does not flow, though the water rises to within 1 foot of 
surface; elevation 6 feet. 

The elevation of the higher ground about Cashville is 8 to 10 feet. 
Dug wells 8 to 15 feet deep yield water of varying quality; those near the 
creek are sometimes salted by high tides. The water from the deep wells 
is satisfactory. Miost of the drilled wells cost $35 to $40, including the 
l^-mch pipe. 

At Harborton, which has a population of about 450, are perhaps 20 wells 
that will flow at an elevation of 8 feet above mean high tide. They all tap 
a bed of coarse Band and gravel at 140 feet. The water is soft and excellent, 



ACCOMAC COUNTY. 



127 



but at some wells it has a slight "sulphur" odor. A well at Allen & Lenner's 
fish factory, used for boiler supply at the factory and on fishing steamers, 
may be the oldest flowing well on the Eastern Shore. The water is said to 
be satisfactory, the boiler being in good condition after 16 years' use. A 
field analysis of a sample from this well is given in table 8. 

The following record is reported by a local driller. Much the same 
succession was found in other wells in Harborton. 

Record of well of J. W. Adams, Harborton. 
(Authority, J. W. Adams, owner.) 



Material 



Soil 

Red clay 

White and yellow sand; water at 12 feet 

Blue creek mud ; 

Gray sand and gravel; water-bearing 

Tough blue clay 

Gray sand, fine at top, coarser below, contains hard streaks 
and shells ; water-bearing 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


1 


1 


4 


5 


11 


16 


24 


40 


11 


51 


74 


125 



15 



140 



The deeper wells at Harborton have a 4-foot galvanized iron strainer 
on the l^-inch pipe. The casing is usually just long enough, 50 to 55 feet, 
to cut off the water in the second sand. In a few wells casing is carried to 
the bottom because of running sand. At a number of the wells are wood 
or cement tanks into which the water rises and from which pitcher pumps 
lift it to sinks, etc. 

One driller, who furnishes all labor and necessary tools and works on 
a "water or no pay" basis, charges 45 cents per foot for the first 100 feet 
and 35 cents for each additional foot. Another driller charges $50 for 
sinking 140 feet. 

A well at Boggs Wharf about one-half mile above Harborton passed 
through beds of the same general character as those at Harborton, as 
indicated by the record below. 

Record of well of H. Battail, near Boggs. 
(Authority, I. B. Clark, driller.) 



Material 



Soil 

Red clay 

White sand ; poor water 

Blue mud 

Blue sand ; very little water 

Blue mud , 

Shells in bluish sand rock 

Blue mud, shells and sand rock, four layers of rock in all 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


1 


1 


3 


4 


6 


10 


34 


44 


1 


45 


59 


104 


8 


112 


38 


150 



128 QNDERGIiOl'XI) WATEE RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 



In a moderately coarse greenish-gray sand, not glaueonitic, at 150 feet 
were small bivalve shells. Specimens of these examined by Dr. W. H. Dall 
were pronounced probably Miocene. The water rises about -i feet above 
surface or about feet above mean tide. The quality is good. 

Another well a few hundred yards distant showed much the same 
Miccossjoi) of material. 

Reco?'d of well of Richard Taylor, at Boggs. 

(Authority, I. B. Clark, driller.) 



Material 


Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 


Soil 


1 
4 
5 

94 

1 


1 


Red clay 


5 


Yellow sand ... 


10 


Blue mud 


104 




105 



At the mouth of this well is a cement tank. The head is about 8 feet 
above mean tide. 

At Pungoteague village, population about 350, several dug and driven 
wells sunk to the "first spring," 10 to 18 feet, came under suspicion during 
an outbreak of typhoid fever, and a number of deeper wells have been put 
down since. One of these, 210 feet deep, or 190 feet below tide level, is 
the deepest in use in Accomac County. It cost $120. The driller reported 
the following succession of beds : 

Record of well of S. W. Ames, Pungoteague. 
(Authority, I. B. Clark, driller.) 



Material 


1 hickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 

(Feet/ 


Soil 


1 
15 

94 
3 

95 
2 


1 


Yellow sand 


16 


Blue mud, at 40 feet, and 60 feet, slightly sandy, witli a 

little water, at latter point; bluish sand with shells 

Bine mud 


110 
113 


Sand : good water 


20S 
210 







The well throws considerable sand when pumped hard. The sand is 
fine, white, well rounded and contains bits of lignitic material. A complete 
analysis of a sample of water from this well is given in table 8. 

There are known to be live water-bearing horizons of varying extent at 
Pungoteague; the first, at L5 to 25 feet, gives plenty of "medium soft" 



ACCOMAC COUNTY. 



129 



water containing little iron; the second, at 30 to 40 feet, gives hard, iron- 
bearing water; the third, at 62 feet, yields water containing little iron; 
the fonrth is at 110 feet; and the fifth at 208 feet gives good water. 

Near Craddockville are several flowing wells. The following is a log 
of one of them. 

Record of well of L. J. Nielson, Allen Farm, 2 miles northwest of 

Craddockville. 
(Authority, I. B. Clark, driller.) 



Material 



Blue mud 

Blue sand and shells 



Thickness 
(Feet) 



140 
33 



Depth 
(Feet) 



140 
173 



This well was dry when completed, and the water at 170 feet broke 
in some 48 hours after the driller had stopped work. 

Wells along the line of the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Rail- 
road.— At the villages south of New Church driven wells reach the "first 
spring" at 10 to 15 feet ; most of them find soft water, bnt some find decidedly 
iron-bearing water. The deeper sands frequently yield better supplies. 

At Hallwood are two wells over 100 feet deep. The log of one is given 
below. 

Record of id ell of J as. A. Hall, at Hallwood. 
(Authority, I. B. Clark, driller.) 



Material 


Thickness 

(Feet) 


Depth 

(Feet) 


Soil 


1 
29 
80 
40 
36 


1 


Blue mud . 


30 

110 


Bluish sand with shells ; small yield of good water 


150 


Blue mud 


186 







The yield by a pump was so small that though the water was of good 
quality, the well was abandoned. 

A tank of the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad is supplied 
from a dug well 12 feet deep and from sixteen 2-inch points driven to 
varying depths. An analysis of the water from the dug well is given in table 
7. A partial analysis made by C. B. Dudley for the Pennsylvania 
System showed 4.91 grains per gallon of total solid residue consisting 
chiefly of sulphate =of lime and magnesia with no carbonates; a slightly 
corrosive water. 



10 



130 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 



Parksley, one of the largest villages along the railroad, population 500, 
has no public supply system; nor were drilled wells over 40 to 50 feet deep 
reported from the village. 

At Accomae, the county seat, water is obtained from three sandy beds 
lying 12, 30, and 50 feet respectively below surface. The water from the 
first is soft, but that from the second is iron-bearing, and that from the 
third is soft. The following generalized section is given by a driller who 
has sunk many wells in the county. 

General section at Accomac. 
(Authority, I. B. Clark, driller.) 







Material 


Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 

(Feet) 


Soil 


1 
3 

28 

18 

1 


1 


Red clav 


4 


Yellow and white 
water at 32 feet. 


sand ; 


surface water at 12 feet, better 


32 


Sticky blue mud 


50 


Coarse bluish sand. 


gravel. 


and small shells; good water 


51 



Field assays of samples from three wells are given in table 7. 

Xear Tasley dug and driven wells average 10 to 15 feet deep and many 
get water that contains a little iron. Water of better quality is said to be 
found at 20 feet. The railroad tank is supplied from eighteen 2-inch 
points driven to varying depths, said to be 22, 35, and 50 feet. 

A partial analysis by C. B. Dudley, of water from a well 12 feet deep, 
showed 4.21 grains of total solid residue per gallon, consisting chiefly of 
sulphates of lime and magnesia with some chlorides and no carbonates ; 
a slightly corrosive water. 

No wells over 55 feet deep had been driven at Onley, 3 miles south of 
Tasley, and there were only two over 50 feet; most were 10 to 20 feet 
deep. The following record shows the character of the materials overly ing 
the "second spring." 

Record of well of I. W. Rogers at Onley. 
(Authority, I. B. (lark, driller.) 



Material 


Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 


Soil 


1 



8 

3.') 

2 


1 


Lighl gray clay 


10 


Yellow sand, full of water 


13 


Blue mud 


53 


Coarse gravel and pebbles; water-bearing 


.").") 







ACCOMAC COUNTY. 



131 



About Keller dug wells get water at 8 to 10 feet and are nearly full in 
wet weather. Driven wells tap sandy beds at 8 to 20 feet. One taps a sand 
at 60 feet. 

Wells on the ocean side south of Chincoteague Bay. — On the ocean side 
of the county, south of Chincoteague Bay, flowing wells have been drilled 
along the inlets, the best flows, as on the bay side, being at the base of steep 
slopes facing open water or marshes. The first attempt it is said, was at the 
residence of B. T. Gunter, 4 miles southeast of Accomac, in 1899. This 
well gets water, which rises about 3 feet above the level of mean high tide, 
from a sand bed at 122 feet below surface. A windmill elevates the water 
to a tank whence it is piped to the house. 

Another flowing well on Custis Neck, %-mile southeast of the well just 
mentioned, is 104 feet deep and flows 100 gallons an hour at an elevation 
of 1 foot above the surface or about 4 feet above mean high tide; the 
following record was given by the driller. 

Record of well of G. L. Dougherty, one and one-half miles north of 

Locustville. 
(Authority, I. B. Clark, driller.) 



Material 



Soil, sand, clay; surface water 

Blue mud 

Sand ; flow of salt water 

Blue mud 

Sand ; flow of good water .... 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


20 


20 


35 


55 


5 


60 


40 


100 


4 


104 



At Wachapreague, on the head of Wachapreague inlet, east of Keller, 
practically all the driven wells get water from the "first spring" at about 10 
feet. Along the edge >of the marsh at the head of the inlet this water is 
brackish. A large hotel supplies cistern water for drinking. 

Wells on islands in Chesapeake Bay. — The Chesapeake Bay islands 
included in Accomac County are low, like those on the ocean side; and 
some are mere patches of salt marsh. The largest of the islands, Tangier, 
has a population of over 1,200 persons. Most of the dug wells on this 
island are less than 9 feet deep. The water at some wells is soft and at 
others, particularly near the shoreline, hard or irony. These shore well? 
frequently get brackish in droughts or after unusually high tides. Shallow 
driven wells which yield water of much the same quality as the dug wells 
are preferred for sanitary reasons. 



132 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

The only attempt at deep drilling reported is a well driven to 250 feet 
for J. J. Daly near the center of the island in 1906. A bed of very fine 
sand 65 feet thick containing salty water which rose to within a few inches 
of the surface was struck at 141 feet; "rock" at 165 feet, and black mud, 
"rotten sea-grass and clam shells" at 200 feet and below. No large supply 
of water was found below 141 feet, and the sand at that depth clogged the 
pipe. 

On Watts Island the deepest well in 1906 was about 70 feet and on 
Fox Island the deepest was 76 feet. On the latter island a number of wells 
have been driven by William Ellinger for use at oyster houses. The follow- 
ing carefully kept record shows the character of the beds penetrated : 



Record of well on Fox Island. 

(Authority, William Ellinger, owner 



Material 



Marsh sod 

Marsh mud 

Stiff, yellowish-red clay 

Blue mud 

Conglomerated shells, pebbles and gray limy clay 

Stiff, gray clay 

Hard substance called "coral rock" by driller . . . 

Tough gray clay 

Sand and clay 

Sharp gray or white, fine to coarse quartz sand. 
Coarse gravel ; water 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


1 


1 


6^2 


7y 2 


4% 


12 


15 


27 


7 


34 


15 


49 


1 


50 


13 


63 


5 


68 


6 


74 


2 


76 



The water which rises to within 2 feet of the surface of the marsh, the 
level fluctuating with the tide, is hard and slightly iron-bearing. The 
yield with a Xo. 3 pitcher pump is 10 to 15 gallons per minute. The 
quality of the water is shown by the field assay in table 7. 

The chances of getting plenty of deep water on these bay islands, 
particularly on Tangier, is so promising that a test by deep drilling should 
be made. The fine wells on the Great Wicomico Eiver, Virginia, and at 
Crisfieldj Maryland, indicate that abundant flows may be had at about 
1,000 feet below sea level in the Upper Cretaceous beds. The water will 
probably be fully as mineralized as that at Crisfield and may be salty. 



ALEXANDRIA COUNTY. 



133 



Some shallow-well details reported by postmasters are summarized 
below: 

Details of shallow wells in Accomac County. 



Post-office 


Depth of 
wells 

(Feet) 


Material of 
water bed 


Quality of 
water 


Assawoman 


10-25 
10-25 

8-25 
8-16 
8-12 

10-40 

10-18 

10-28 

8-16 

5-20 

6-40 

10-25 




soft 


Atlantic 


clay and sand 

sand 


hard 


Bullbeg'ffer 


bad, irony 


Fairoaks 


sand 


Graysville 

Horsley 


sand 


soft, bad, saltv 




[ shallow, irony ; 


Leeraont 




{ deep, good 
ditto 


Onlev 


.... sand and gravel .... 


soft 


Parkslev 


hard, irony 


Poulson 


sand 


Sinnickson 

Temperanceville 


sand 


poor 

fair, irony 





Conclusions. — By sinking to one or another of the sandy beds above 
300 feet it is possible at most places to get supplies of water of satisfactory 
quality. Owing to their eas}^ pollution dug wells are objectionable. 
Driven wells can be sunk cheaply and water from those 30 feet or more 
deep should be free from disease germs. 

The outlook for satisfactory water from beds in the Chesapeake deposits 
300 feet or more below surface is not especially good. On the mainland 
in the northern part of the county there is a chance of getting potable 
water at greater depth, 1,000 to 1,500 feet in the Earitan, but drilling in 
the hope of reaching better supplies in the Potomac beds, 2,000 feet 
more below surface, is not advisable. In the southern part of the county 
deep well prospects are less promising than in the northern. 



ALEXANDRIA COUNTY. 

General description. — This county, once part of the District of Columbia, 
is the smallest and most densely populated county in Virginia. The area 
is 32 square miles. The topography is varied, elevations ranging from 
sea level to over 400 feet. In places on the heights above 300 feet are 
remnants of the Lafayette terrace, and several of the Columbia terraces 
are plainly traceable, particularly the Sunderland at 260 feet near Ballston 
and Glen Carlyn. The city of Alexandria stands on a somewhat eroded 
terrace 40 to 50 feet high. 



134 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

The crystalline rocks, mostly granite and gneiss, outcrop and are 
quarried along the river above Eosslyn and are exposed in ravines in the 
western part of the county. 

The cobbles, sands, and clays, of the Patuxent formation (Potomac 
group) outcrop here and there. Xorthwest of Alexandria the higher 
(Patapsco) beds rest on gneiss and granite at elevations up to 250 feet 
above tide, whereas the base of the Patuxent is over 450 feet below tide at 
the river front in Alexandria. 

The Columbia formations contain characteristic cobble beds, sands, and 
loams. The more highly colored loams of the Lafayette formation are 
found on the remnants of the high plain between Cherrydale and Falls 
Church, at Upton Hill, and elsewhere. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS 

Occurrence and quality. — In Alexandria County water is obtained from 
the crystalline rocks, from their decayed upper surface, and from Potomac, 
Lafayette and Columbia sands. Because of this difference of origin the 
quality varies. Generally the waters are soft; in places they are hard and 
some deep wells and occasional shallow wells have found water containing 
considerable iron. In general the water of the deep drilled wells, particu- 
larly those at Alexandria, is beyond suspicion, but into many open shallow 
wells, in places where there is lack of proper curbing, surface impurities 
are washed at every rain. 

Springs. — As a result of an abundant rainfall, and a deeply scored topog- 
raphy, Alexandria County has many springs. They issue from hollows, 
from hillsides, in ravines, or at the base of terrace scarps. Most of them 
flow from sandy beds in the Columbia, but a few flow from hard rock. 
Many of the springs are utilized for household supply or for watering stock, 
while three are, or have been, of commercial importance. These are the 
1 1 nine, near St. Asaph, the Erup near Glencarlyn, and the Powhatan 
south of Upton. 

Hume. — This spring or springs, for there are two distinct sources, in 
the valley of Four Mile Eun, is said to have been discovered by troops during 
the Civil War. It has been improved by a concrete basin, piping, etc. 
The flows issue from Columbia sands on a terrace. The principal flow, 
aliout 1<i gallons per minute, is -aid not to vary with the seasons. The 
water contains iron and according to some persons, has a slight sulphur. 
odor. It i- not sold by the owner, bul lias been collected and sold bv others. 



ALEXANDRIA COUNTY. 135 

Erup mineral spring. — This spring, about half a mile south of 
Glencarlyn Station, issues from a high-lying sand and cobble bed. The flow 
is about 1 gallon per minute. Over the spring is a frame spring house, 
adjoining this is a frame bottling house with cement-lined iron tanks. 
The water, which is clear, colorless and odorless, is said to carbonate well. 
It has been shipped to Washington and sold there, plain or carbonated, for 
table or medicinal use. 

The water has been analyzed several times; the following analysis 
shows its low mineral content. 

Analysis of Erup mineral spring water. 
(J. K. Haywood, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Silica (Si0 2 ) 7.9 

Sulphuric acid radicle ( S0 4 ) 3.3 

Bicarbonate acid radicle (HC0 3 ) 9.1 

Chlorine (CI) 6.3 

Bromine ( Br ) none 

Iodine ( I ) small amount 

Iron ( Fe ) 1 

Manganese ( Mn ) none 

Calcium ( Ca ) 2.9 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 1.8 

Potassium ( K ) 1.5 

Sodium ( Xa ) 5.7 

Lithium (Li) trace 

Oxygen to form oxide of iron (Fe 2 3 ) and silicic acid radicle (Si0 2 ) 1.2 

Total 38 . 8 

Total solids 47 . 8 

Hypothetical Combination 

Lithium chloride ( LiCl ) trace 

Potassium chloride (KC1) 2.9 

Sodium chloride (XaCl) 8.1 

Potassium iodide (KI) small amount 

Sodium sulphate ( jS T a 2 S0 4 ) 4.6 

Magnesium sulphate ( MgS0 4 ) 3 

Magnesium bicarbonate (Mg(HC0 3 ) 2 ) 10.2 

Calcium bicarbonate (Ca(HC0 3 ) 2 ) 8 

Calcium silicate 7.9 

Silica (Si0 2 ) 3.8 

Kerric oxide ( Fe 2 3 ) 2 

38.8 

Powhatan. — This spring is situated about three-eighths of a mile south 
of Kearney station on the Washington, Alexandria & Great Falls electric 



136 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

railway. It issues from the south side of a ravine, the valley of a small 
rill that empties into Four Mile Eun less than half a mile east of the 
spring. A dark granite outcrops in the ravine, and the spring is probably 
of the crevice type, though the point of emergence from the rock is not 
visible. The coolness of the water indicates a source deeper than that of 
many hillside springs. The flow is about 10 gallons per minute; the 
quality clear, tasteless, and odorless. The spring basin is protected by a 
masonry chamber; there are no possible sources of pollution near, and 
the sanitary conditions are good. 

There is a masonry bottling house at the spring from which water 
has been shipped to Washington. The following analysis was made by 
the Bureau of Chemistry." 

Analysis of Powhatan spring water. 
(J. K. Haywood and B. H. Smith, analysts.) 

Parts per 1,000.000 

Silica (SKX) 12.0 

Sulphuric acid radicle ( S0 4 ) 1.2 

Bicarbonate acid radicle (HC0 3 ) 12.0 

Nitric acid radicle ( N0 3 ) 1 . 55 

Nitrous acid radicle (N0 2 ) .016 

Phosphoric acid radicle (P0 4 ) none 

Metaboric acid radicle ( B0 2 ) none 

Arsenic acid radicle (AsOJ none 

Chlorine ( CI ) 3.8 

Bromine ( Br ) none 

Iodine ( I ) trace 

Iron and aluminum ( Fe + Al ) .2 

Manganese (Mil) none 

Calcium ( C'a ) 1.0 

Magnesium ( Mg) 1.2 

Potassium (K) 1.2 

Sod ium ( Na ) 3.7 

Lithium ( Li ) none 

Ammonia (NH 4 ) 009 

Oxygen to form Fe 2 3 .10 

Total 38. 435 

Free ammonia . 0G5 

Albuminoid ammonia none 

Nitrogen a> nitrates .350 

Nitrogen as nitrites . 005 

< Kygen required .45 



aHaywood, J. K.. and Smith, B. II.. Mineral Waters of United states. Bull. 91, 
Bureau of * hemistry, L905, p. !•'!. 



ALEXANDRIA COUNTY. 137 

Analysis of Powhatan spring water — (Continued). 

Hypothetical Combination 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Ammonium chloride (NH 4 C1) . 207 

Potassium chloride ( KC1 ) 2.3 

Sodium chloride (Nad) 4.3 

Potassium iodide ( KI ) faint trace 

Sodium sulphate (Na->S0 4 ) 1.8 

Sodium nitrate (NaN0 3 ) 2 . 12 

Sodium nitrite (NaN0 2 ) 024 

Sodium bicarbonate ( NaHC0 3 ) 2.9 

Magnesium bicarbonate ( Mg ( HC0 3 ) 2 ) 6.0 

Calcium bicarbonate ( CaC0 3 ) 6.5 

Ferric oxide and alumina (FeX) 3 + AL0 3 ) .3 

Silica (Si0 2 ) 12.0 

Total 38 . 451 

Public supplies. — The city of Alexandria, population about 17,000, is 
supplied with water taken from a creek, Cameron Eun, about 3 miles 
above the city. The military post of Fort Myer is supplied with water 
from Potomac Eiver. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES 

Alexandria. — There are a number of dug wells owned by the city and 
many privately owned ones. These wells 20 to 40 feet deep get water 
from sandy and "gravelly Columbia beds. In 1906 some were liable to 
pollution from leak}?" sewers or cesspools. 

Deep wells have been drilled for the Robert Portner Brewing Co., the 
Mutual Ice Co., the Alexandria Fertilizer and Chemical Co., and the 
Belle Pre Bottle Co. At the Portner brewery, on a slope 40 feet above 
tide, are four 8-inch wells down about 400 feet and one 6-inch well down 
61 feet, the greatest depth of well reported being 430 feet. The wells 
are pumped by air lift. The water is low in lime but alkaline enough 
to make an admirable boiler water. It is used for brewing, for ice-making, 
and for washing as well as for steam production. A number of families 
in the vicinity of the brewery get the water for drinking. The water from 
the 61-foot well contains considerable iron and is used only for cooling 
condenser coils and washing the outside of kegs and barrels. Analyses 
of water from two of the deep wells, made in 1903, are given below. 
Well No. 1 had been in use 20 } T ears; well Xo. 2 had just been completed. 



138 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Analyses of water from wells of Robert Portner Brewing Co., Alexandria. 
(First Scientific Station for the Art of Brewing, analyst.) 



Total solids 

Organic and volatile matter 

Iron and aluminum oxides ( Fe 2 3 + Al 2 O a 

Calcium ( Ca ) 

Magnesium ( Mg) 

Chlorine (CI) 

Alkaline carbonates 

Sulphuric acid (S0 3 ) 

Xitric acid 

Nitrous acid 

Free ammonia 

Albumenoid ammonia 

Total hardness 



Parts 


per 1,000,000 


No. 1 


No. 2 


118.0 


170.0 


12.0 


14.0 


trace 


4.0 


24.8 


19.5 


114.4 


109.0 


11.6 


12.0 


0.0 


0.0 


0.0 


0.0 


trace 


trace 


small trace 


small trace 


15.6 


20.0 



A later analysis made by the United States Geological Survey is given 
in table 11. 

The 8-inch well of the Peoples Ice Company is on the river front. 
It is 401 feet deep and cased to the bottom. The water rises about to 
tide level;, 12 feet below the top of the well. Pumping 90 gallons a minute 
lowers the water to 60 feet from the top. The water, like that from the 
Portner wells, is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It is used for making 
ice and has been bottled and sold for table use under the name of Mico 
water. An analysis furnished by the company but recalculated to express 
results in the form adopted by the II. S. Geological Survey shows the 
following mineral content : 

Analysis of 2Iico Water. 
(J. D. Hird. analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 176 . 

Organic matter . 

Silicia ( Si0 2 ) 21 . 

Calcium ( Ca ) trace 

Magnesium (Mg) 1-4 

Sodium (Na) 49. 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) 39. 

Sulphate radicle (S0 4 ) 36. 

Chlorine (CI) 32. 

A well sunk in 1 !)<)(> at the plant of the Alexandria Fertilizer and 
Chemical Co., on the water front a quarter of a mile north of the well of 
the Peoples tee Co., illustrates the variability of the Patuxent sands as 



ALEXANDRIA COUNTY. 139 

water bearers, the poor quality of the water in some of the sands and the 
difficulties that beset a driller unaccustomed to working in the Potomac 
sands and sandy clays. 

A standard cable rig was used and rapid progress made for the first 
250 feet. Below 300 feet progress was slower and the 8-inch casing after 
a series of accidents finally collapsed at 397 feet. An attempt to go 
deeper with 6-inch casing resulted in reaching a total depth of 445 feet, 
beyond which it was impossible to drive the casing, though this was 
heavy pipe, without its collapsing. Little water was found and none 
that would flow at surface, 10 feet above tide. Dynamiting at 350 feet 
gave a small yield which rose to 80 feet of surface. Dynamiting at 225 
feet gave water which rose nearly to tide level. The yield is 60 gallons per 
minute, by air lift, the end of the air pipe being 215 feet down the well. 

The water from the sand and gravel at 225 feet has not improved 
in quality under heavy pumping. It is clear and colorless when fresh 
from the well but becomes turbid and deposits iron on standing. It has 
an acid reaction and is not suitable for boiler use. A partial analysis 
showed solids amounting to 1,265 parts per million, chiefly sulphates. 

A 6-inch well drilled for the Belle Pre Bottle Co., half a mile north- 
west of the brewery, is 185 feet deep; the water, from a sand bed in the 
Patuxent formation, rises to 25 feet of surface, elevation 40 feet; pumping 
65 gallons lowers it 10 feet. It is used for boiler supply, though it forms 
a tough hard scale, and for other purposes at the company's glass works. 
The analysis in table 11 was made by the U. S. Geological Survey in 
1910. The difference between this water and that from the deeper wells 
is marked. 

Other localities. — On the heights west of Alexandria most residences get 
water from dug wells; a few have drilled wells. The supplies come from 
Columbia or Potomac sands and cobble beds. Depths to water and quality 
of supplies vary. Thus a drilled well about 125 feet deep on the southeast 
slope of Shooter Hill obtains iron-bearing water that rises to 60 feet of 
surface from a Patuxent sand bed; whereas about 100 yards east, and a little 
higher up the hill, a well only 20 feet deep yields an abundant supply 
■of soft clear water. At most wells the water is soft. 

The irregular occurrence of water in crystalline rocks in the western 
part of the county is shown by the following records furnished by X. H. 
Darton. The second well is 150 feet east of the first. 



140 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Record of well of G. N. Saegmuller, Chain Bridge. 
(Authority, W. C. Miller, driller.) 



Material 



Depth 
(Feet) 



Micaceous red clay 
Soft micaceous rock 
Gneiss 




A little water, about 2 gallons per minute, was found at 80 feet and 
no water below. 

Record of well of G. N. Saegmuller, Chain Bridge road. 
(Authority, W. C. Miller, driller.) 



Material 



Micaceous red clay 
Soft micaceous rock 
Gneiss 



Thickness 
(Feet) 



GO 
11 
10 



Depth 
(Feet) 



60 
71 
81 



The yield of this well was 8 gallons per minute. 

The record of another well that obtained water from granite is given 
below. 

Record of well of A. M. Lalhrop, Upton Hill, near Fostorin. 
(Authority, W. C. Miller, driller.) 



Material 


Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 


Micaceous red clav 


GO 
34 

80 


60 


Soft micaceous rock; small supplv of water at 60 feet 

Soft gneiss 


94 

172 







According to the driller, this well, when completed, yielded 15 gallons 
per minute of excellent water. 

About Addison and Arlington Junction are many dug wells and a few 
drilled wells. The dug wells are 15 to 25 feet deep. The drilled wells 
vary greatly in depth. One at the power house of the Washington, 
Alexandria & Mt. Vernon railway, near Luna Park, yields a small flow 
of good water from a sand bed reported to be but 36 feet below surface. 
The comparatively high head of the flow, about 20 feet, is explainable 
by the water bed receiving supplies from the hill on the Luna Park 
grounds, and thus having an initial head of possibly 100 feet. At the 
plants of the Standard Brick Co., and of the New Washington Brick Co. 



CAROLINE COUNTY. 141 

near Addison are wells 140 feet and 131 feet deep respectively, tapping 
Patuxent beds. The water is used for boiler supply and for drinking. 
An analysis of the water from one of the wells appears in table 11. 

There are no deep drilled wells at Eosslyn. Most dug wells obtain 
soft water from Columbia or Potomac sands and cobble beds. Depths 
range from 15 to 40 feet. 

On the terrace near Ballston, Clarendon, Veitch and Kearney, dug 
wells about 20 feet deep are practically the sole source of supply. The 
water lies chiefly in Columbia sands or cobble beds and is soft at most 
wells; a few wells yield hard water and a few water that is irony. 

About Glen Carlyn dug wells are 20 to 35 feet deep. The water, in 
Columbia cobble beds, is soft as a rule. 

Falls Church lies chiefly in Fairfax County and its water supply is 
described under that county. 

Conclusions. — The underground water resources of Alexandria County 
are considerable and can meet far greater demands than those at present 
made. At Alexandria and along the river front northward, it will 
probably pay any concern using large amounts of water to have a com- 
petent driller make a test to bed rock. Exact prediction of depth to good 
boiler water at a particular point is impossible. It is probable that such 
water will be found within 100 feet of bed rock, that a deep well will pene- 
trate a number of water-bearing sands, and that wells a short distance 
apart will get water of different quality from about the same depth. 

Deep drilling on the higher terraces to develop water in the crystalline 
rocks is a more uncertain venture. It will often be justified by sanitary 
considerations. 

CAROLINE COUNTY. 

General description. — Caroline County, formed in 1727 from portions 
of Essex, King and Queen, and King William counties, lies in the western 
part of the Coastal Plain between Eappahannock and Mattaponi rivers 
and extends into the Piedmont region. 

The topography is of the western shore type. On the highest terraces 
are patches of swamp in which head sluggish brooks that meander to the 
edge of the terrace, then descend rapidly through sharply cut valleys to 
the lowest terrace. Elevations range up to 250 feet. The Lafayette, terrace 
caps divides in the western end and the Sunderland terrace occurs on the 
divides in the eastern end of the county. Lower terraces make the 
second and first bottoms of Eappahannock and Mattaponi rivers. 



142 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

The oldest rocks exposed at the surface within the Coastal Plain part of 
the county are the Triassic sandstones and shales in the valley of the 
South Anna River. The sands, gravels, sandstones, and clays of the 
Potomac, the greensands of the Pamunkey, and the clays and sands of 
the Chesapeake all outcrop. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS 

Because of the topography and because of the variability in composi- 
tion of the surficial deposits, the depth to the water table and the character 
of the ground water vary greatly. On projecting headlands of the 
Lafayette or Sunderland terraces dug wells may have to go 60 feet to 
get water, while on level interstream areas of the same formation wells may 
find sufficient supplies within 12 feet of surface and be full to the top 
after prolonged rains. On the lower terraces the differences in depth to 
water are less but the wells are more apt to go dry in drought. The 
sands of the high terraces yield water that is mostly soft but in places it 
is hard. Waters in the lower terraces are more apt to be hard or iron- 
bearing. Wells sunk through the terrace formations or through valley 
wash into the Chesapeake deposits obtain water that may be soft; if the 
water comes from a bed of shell marl it may be decidedly hard. Supplies 
may be scanty, though the wells penetrate the clayey sands for 50 feet. 
The Potomac and Pamunkey sands, tapped by drilled wells along Eappa- 
hannock Eiver, yield flows of soft water of good quality that has a faint 
"sulphur" odor. 

Springs. — Because of the topography Caroline County contains many 
springs of the Coastal Plain type. They are comparatively little used 
for household supply and none is of commercial importance. One near 
Guineys has a local reputation for yielding water of theraputic value. 

Wells. — Dug wells, most of them having a wood curbing at the bottom, 
are the chief source of supply. There are comparatively few driven wells 
in the county and perhaps 10 drilled wells along Eappahannock River. 

The usual price for digging a well is $5. This does not include extra 
labor needed and lumber used for curbing. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES 

Bowling Green. — Practically all the water used in this village, the 
county seat, is obtained from dug wells 25 to 35 feet deep which give 
enough water for household use, but few withstand continued heavy pump- 
ing after prolonged dry weather. Some of the wells are poorly located. 



CAKOLINE COUNTY. 143 

According to E. P. Vincent, there are about 60 dug wells in the village. 
He gives the following as an average section of the materials penetrated. 

Generalized section at Bowling Green. 
(Authority, R. P. Vincent.) 



Material 




Depth 

(Feet) 



Red loam 7 7 

Red loam and pebbles 7 14 

Yellow sandy clay, with seeps of water 12 26 

Gray sand, main supply of water 6 31 

The supplies show unexpected variations in quality, due either to the 
chaotic assortment of materials in the basal beds of the Sunderland for- 
mation or to some wells striking shell beds in the Chesapeake. The water 
from the public well in front of the old courthouse is soft and contains 
little iron, while almost directly across the street, the well of E. P. Vincent 
gives water that is hard and contains iron. The village has a reputation 
for health fulness, so the supplies obtained from the dug wells are presum- 
ably satisfactory from a sanitary standpoint. 

Eesults of field assays of the water from neighboring wells appear in 
table 7. 

Other localities. — At Milford on Mattaponi Eiver the dug wells average 
20 feet deep, and get water from sandy and gravelly Columbia beds. The 
water in a number of the wells is . decidedly irony. 

The dug wells at Port Eoyal go deeper than at Milford ; some pass 
through the Columbia sands and get hard water in the Pamunkey greensands 
at 20 to 25 feet. The artesian wells at or near Port Eoyal tap coarse green- 
sands and gravels at the bottom of the Aquia formation. The water is 
beautifully limpid, has a faint "sulphur" odor and is distinctly alkaline. 
One of these wells, owned by the corporation of Port Eoyal, is on the river 
edge just below the steamboat landing. It is 272 feet deep, l 1 /^ inches in 
diameter, and flows 2 gallons per minute, the flow varying slightly accord- 
ing to the stage of the tide. An attempt to get a supply on the terrace, 
elevation 20 feet, by a ram, proved disappointing and was abandoned. The 
other wells at and below Port Eoyal get water from the Aquia. A few 
wells farther up stream get water from "quicksand" in the Potomac. 
One of these wells at Hayfield farm near Horseneck is 169 feet deep and 
just flows at an elevation of 25 feet above tide. The driller reported the 
following log: 



a For field assay of water, see table 9. 



144 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Record of well of A. B. Lewis, 9 miles southeast of Fredericksburg. 
(Authority, Geo. Heflin, driller.) 



Material 



Red clay and gravel 

Blue marl; water at bottom; this water cased off 

Quicksand, ''green with white spots"; main flow at 167 feet. 




Depth 
(Feet) 

20 

100 
167 



The following summarized statement shows the variations in depth 
to water and quality of supplies at several localities dependent on dug- 
wells. The data are from reports by postmasters and others. 

Details of dug wells in Caroline County. 



Post-office 


Depth of 
wells 
(Feet) 


Water bed 


Quality of principal 
supply 




Bra ndv wine 


25 to 45 

40 
16 to 24 
10 to 20 
25 to 40 
30 to 50 
16 to 50 
15 to 25 
10 to 60 
30 to 35 
10 to 75 

40 
20 to 45 
12 to 30 




Hard, soft 




Central point . 






Chilesburg 


Clay and gravel 

Sand 

Iron crusts 

Gravel 

Gravel 

Sand, blue clay 

Sand, gravel 


Soft 

Soft 

Shallow, soft; deep, hai 

Soft 

Soft 

Fair, irony 

Soft, irony 




Delos 




Edgar 


d 


Ezra 




Golansville 




Guinevs 




Milford 




New London 




Penola 






Return 






Rappahannock Academy . 
Woodford 






Gravel 


Soft 



Conclusions. — Except at a few villages present supplies of water are 
equal to local demands. Water that is above suspicion of pollution can be 
had from the Pamunkey and the Potomac sands by properly drilled wells, 
lmt flows are not to be expected at over 25 feet above sea level. 

At Bowling Green excellent water for domestic use can be had from 
the Pamunkey at a probable depth of 400 feet. As this water will not 
rise within 100 feet of surface, the well would have to be pumped, hence 
should be of sufficient diameter. At Milford a flow at the surface from 
either Pamunkey or Potomac sands is doubtful. Enough water to keep 
fire tanks full and supply several buildings can be had on the terrace at 
Port Royal by attaching a hydraulic ram to a carefully drilled and cased 
well of larger diameter than those now in use. On the Mattaponi no 
artesian wells have been Bunk, lmt flows may be struck at 300 feet below 



CHAELES CITY COUNTY. 145 

tide level at the east line of the county. In general flows are not to be 
expected and supplies that will rise 20 feet above river level are unlikely. 
There is a good prospect for flows at less elevation east of Penola. The 
Xewark rocks on the Xorth Anna Eiver are uncertain water-bearers, as 
shown by the deep well at Doswell. 

CHARLES CITY COUNTY. 

General description. — Charles City County, one of the original shires 
of the colony of Virginia, was formed in 1634. It extends along the 
north side of James Eiver to the eastern end of the peninsula between 
James and Chickahominy rivers. 

Away from the rivers the western end of the county has a gently 
rolling surface, cut here and there by some tributary of the James or 
the Chickahominy. An altitude of 200 feet is reported just south of Box- 
bury. This high point is a remnant of the Lafayette terrace, and other 
remnants of the Lafayette terrace may be seen northeast of Malvern Hill. 
The lower terraces are plainl}- evident in the east end of the county. On 
the James the development of the Wicomico terrace gives the topography 
a peculiar, drowned look; red hills, remnants of the Sunderland terrace, 
project above the buff loams and clays of the Wicomico plain. This is 
particularly noticeable ; on the road from Charles City to Eichmond, between 
the Willcox Wharf road and Herring Creek. Along the Chickahominv 
which, above Providence Forge, flows for 40 miles through a narrow swamp, 
a low terrace is well developed. 

The Columbia or the Lafayette overlies the clays, sands, and marls of the 
Chesapeake, on the higher land in the eastern part of the county. The 
Chesapeake is probably not more than 120 feet thick, thinning toward 
the west. Along James Eiver, from the west line of the county to Herring 
Creek, the greensands of the Pamunkey lie just below the Columbia and 
are exposed in bluffs. The Chickahominy has not cut its way down to 
the Pamunkey, though at Eoxbury the cover of Chesapeake is less than 
50 feet thick. 

UXDEEGEOUXD WATERS 

Occurrence and character. — Supplies of underground water sufficient for 
the needs of farm houses can be obtained on the terraces from wells sunk 
in the Lafayette or the several Columbia formations. The depth to the 
water table varies according to topography, depth of the surficial deposits, 
freedom of ground water movement, etc. Some anomalous conditions 



n 



14G UNDEKGKOUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

result. For instance, near Shirley some wells on projecting headlands of 
a Sunderland plain get water at 15 feet in loam, while on the Wicomico 
terrace 50 feet below and not over 300 yards distant, wells go 30 feet to 
water. The quality of the supplies from the Sunderland and Wicomico 
formations varies, but is generally soft. On the stretches of a low-lying 
terrace near James Eiver, excellent water can be had by driven points 
20 to 30 feet deep. Water from shallow wells in the Chickahominy 
valley has a bad reputation, being thought to cause malaria, and intestinal 
diseases. Part of this ill-repute is no doubt due to the use of dug wells. 

Springs. — Charles City County has its share of springs, most of which 
are of the ordinary Coastal Plain type, flowing from terrace gravels above 
Chesapeake or Pamunkey beds of sandy clay. The flows are small, probably 
averaging less than 5 gallons per minute, but the waters are soft. Xo 
spring is the site of a health or pleasure resort, and from none is water 
shipped in commercial quantities. A few that are noticeable for one reason 
or another are those of John Euffln, 6 miles west of Charles City; E. A. 
Saunders at Buckland Farm in the same section; and E. W. Swift 2 miles 
southeast of Elko. The last, situated in a hollow by a run that empties 
into Chickahominy Eiver, has a fine flow of 20 to 25 gallons per minute 
from clayey and sand}' beds near the bottom of the Wicomico formation. 
Other good springs are found along the same run. The water from Mr. 
Swift's spring is clear and sparkling, and is used for all domestic purposes. 
A field assay is given in table 6. 

]Yells. — The dug well, cased with wood, is the chief source of under- 
ground water supply. In places on the lower terraces along James Eiver 
driven wells are used. There are few deep drilled wells, though water- 
bearing beds in the Pamunkey or Potomac underlie the entire county. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES 

Of the deep wells reported, one 280 feet deep, near the Chesapeake & 
Ohio railroad station at Eoxbury, on the edge of the cypress swamp along 
Chickahominy Eiver. was drilled for T. L. Watson to furnish drinking 
water of better quality than could be procured by dug wells, and to supply 
a mill boiler. The water rises to within 2 feet of surface, or about 40 
feet above mean high tide in James Eiver. According to unverified reports 
a. small flow was struck at 70 feet, but was cased off. The main flow is 
from a Potomac gravel bed. The water, pumped by a windmill, is clear 
and Boft with a very slight sulphur taste. It works nicely in a boiler, 
and is called an excellent table water. 



CHARLES CITY COUNTY. 147 

One of the finest wells in the section along James Eiver was sunk for 
W. M. Eamsey, on the famous estate known as Westover. The well, which 
is 10 inches in diameter and 139 feet deep, found water in a bed of gravel 
and black sand (basal Pamunkey) at 132 feet; this water rises to 10 feet 
of surface, or 10 feet above mean high tide. Pumping 70 gallons per 
minute lowers the water 8 feet. A 4 horse-power gas engine belted to a 
horizontal pump, forces the water to a tank whence it is piped to the house, 
stables, and other buildings. The water is clear, tasteless, and odorless. 

At Bucklands stock farm, near Bucklands Landing on James Eiver, 
are 6 flowing wells ranging in depth from 168 to 184 feet that reach 
Pamunkey sands. The flows are free, ranging from 6 gallons through a 
2-inch pipe, at the well on the highest ground, elevation 24 feet, to 80 
gallons per minute at a well by the river. The reported head of the flows 
is about 32 feet above river level. (See table 5.) 

Near Charles City dug wells are found 25 to 40 feet deep, averaging 
30 feet, and ordinarily contain 4 or 5 feet of water. In most wells the 
water is called hard. 

The following section in a road cut at Courthouse Creek shows the 
general character of the Columbia and Chesapeake beds reached by dug 
wells. 

Section at Courthouse Creek, Charles City. 



Material 



Gray, buff, and red loam and clay. 
Discontinuous band of cobbles .... 

Gray sand 

Iron crusts and sand 

Coarse yellow and orange sand . . . . 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


10 


10 


1 


10 


3 


14 


2 


16 


10 


26 



Near Binn's Hall dug wells are 12 to 60 feet deep, most being from 
12 to 25 feet; the water in the shallow wells is soft, in the deep hard. 
Near Oldfield the wells average around 30 feet and yield soft water; near 
Sturgeon depths range from 20 to 70 feet, averaging 50 feet. The water is 
soft. On the terrace back of Wilcox Wharf wells are 30 to 45 feet deep. One 
on the bluff, belonging to T. W. Hubbard, went 12 feet through red and 
buff clay and 31 feet through sand, gravel, and iron crusts, with pebbles 
near the bottom. The water is soft and excellent for domestic use. (See 
analysis, table 8.) 

At Eppes Island on James Eiver, driven wells get good water from 
the Talbot formation at 15 feet. At and near Shirley are a considerable 



148 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 



number of driven wells. They are from 27 to 35 feet deep. H. S. 
Saunders gives the following- average record for wells at Upper Shirley. 

Generalized section at Upper Shirley. 
(Authority, H. S. Saunders.) 

Material 



Soil 

Tough gray clay 

Reddish sandv clav 

Cobble bed 

Coarse gravel, water-bearing 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


3 


3 


10 


13 


15 


28 


4 


32 


1 


33 



A field assay of a sample of water from a 30-foot well is given in 
table 7. 

This well, driven some 15 years ago, is situated in a slight hollow of 
a terrace about 25 feet high. To guard against surface water working 
down along the pipe a hole 4 feet in diameter and 1 foot deep was dug 
about the pipe and filled with concrete. A deep well drilled for Mr. 
Saunders struck bed rock at 350 feet. It did not get a flow. 

War Malvern Hill post-office wells are from 20 to 70 feet deep; some 
of the deeper ones go down into "marsh-mud," probably fine dark clays 
of the Pamunkey, and obtain little water. A well at the post-office, said 
to be 50 feet deep, though nearly full in wet weather, is said to go dry in 
droughts; it evidently gets little water except what comes in near the 
surface. In the neighborhood are several 8-inch wells bored by an earth 
auger and cased with 12-inch tile. One of these owned by J. M. Gill, 
TO feet deep, cost $15 to bore. This well is said to be sunk through 
"marsh-mud" below the surface sands and loam. The depth from which 
the main supply of water comes in wet weather is uncertain. The character 
of the water in 1906 is indicated by the field assay in table 8. 

Data regarding dug wells at a number of places in the county are 
presented in the accompanying table. 

Details of dug veils in Charles City County. 



Post-office 


Depth of 

well 

(Feet) 


Water bed 


Quality of 

principal 

supply 


Binn's Hall 


12-00 


Sand and marl 

Sand 

Sand 

Marl 

Sand 

Sand and clay 


Hard 


and soft 


EToldcroft 


.... 1 3-30 




Old field 


35 

30-75 

30 




Lame 


Hard 
Soft 

Soft 




si urgeon Poinl 


. . . . 15-60 





CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. Ill) 

Conclusions. — Good water can be had by dug, driven, and drilled wells in 
Charles City County. On the low ground along Chickahominy River 
where the shallow water is regarded with suspicion, plentiful supplies can 
be had from Pamunkey sands 150 to 300 feet below sea level; along the 
tidal portion of the river, south of Boulevard, basal sands of the Chesa- 
peake group 100 to 150 feet below sea level, may yield small flows at ele- 
vations less than 10 feet. Along James River in the eastern half of the 
county good flows can be had from the Pamunkey, but heads 25 feet above 
river level should not be expected. 

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. 

General description. — Chesterfield County, formed from Henrico County 
in 1748, is bounded on the north and east by James River and on the 
south and west by Appomattox River, but only that part of the county 
east of a line from Richmond to Petersburg lies within the geologic province 
considered in this report. In this part of the county elevations range up 
to 210 feet. James River and Appomattox River have cut gorges nearly 
200 feet deep in what was a gently rolling plain, and tributary creeks have 
Y-shaped valleys. Near the rivers the Columbia terraces have been largely 
removed, but remnants of the Sunderland and "Wicomico terraces are trace- 
able back of Manchester and along the road from Manchester to Petersburg. 
The Talbot terrace is nowhere conspicuous. 

A gray granite, in places gneissoid, outcrops about Manchester and 
causes rapids in James River. It also outcrops near Ettricks on Appo- 
mattox River. The sand, sandstone, and cobble beds of the Patuxent 
formation are exposed in places along James River and are conspicuous on 
the north bank of Appomattox River. The dark green glauconitic sands 
of the Xanjemoy formation outcrop at Powhatan and elsewhere on Appo- 
mattox River. The sands and diatomaceous clays of the Calvert overlap 
the Xanjemoy, resting on that formation, the Patuxent, or the granite. 
The yellow, buff, and reddish loams of the Lafayette and Sunderland 
formations mantle the divides. 

UXDERGROUXD WATERS 

Occurrence and character. — Ground water, stored in the coarser beds 
of the Lafayette and of the various Columbia formations, is the chief 
source of supply. Depths to the water table show the usual variations 
characteristic of the western edge of the Coastal Plain and range from 5 
to 50 feet. The water as a rule contains little mineral matter in solution 
and is clear and soft. 



150 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Springs. — Chesterfield County contains many springs. As fastidious 
people in Kichmond desired water of better appearance and greater purity 
than the supplies that were, until the installation of purification plants, 
furnished by the city waterworks, some of the owners of conveniently 
situated springs have sold large quantities localh', and have extended 
business to points outside the State. Some of the important springs are 
outside the Coastal Plain area, and flow from crevices in crystalline rocks ; 
others, just within it, issue from gravelly beds in the surficial loams of the 
Lafayette or the Sunderland terrace. All the springs of note are mentioned 
here. Five of these springs have been advertised more or less extensively; 
the waters from several others have been sold or have been used in the 
manufacture of ginger ale and other sweetened beverages. 

Perhaps the longest known of the springs is the Fonticello, situated 
in Swansboro, a suburb of Manchester, on a tract of land that is said to 
have been an Indian camp ground during the time of Powhatan. The 
spring issues from a crevice in the granite-gneiss exposed by a slight 
hollow in the red cobbly Lafayette loam that mantles the high ground 
west of Manchester for an undetermined distance. It flows from the cleft 
in the rock at the rate (estimated) of 18 to 19 gallons per minute and, 
according to the proprietor, shows no seasonal changes in flow. The water 
is pumped from a cement basin in the stone spring house to the bottling 
room. The overflow from the basin supplies a small pond. The grounds 
about the spring are laid out as a park. Care has been taken to exclude 
surface water by digging a blind ditch around three sides of the spring 
and laying tile drains. The source of the flow is uncertain, but the location 
of the spring, in a hollow on high ground, the temperature of the flow, 
61° F. in October, 1906, the manner of emergence, and the character of 
the water indicate that the source is not deep. The water probably accu- 
mulates in the gravels of the Lafayette on the higher ground to the west 
and flows by connecting joints in the underlying granite to the outlet. 

Fonticello Lithia water, as the output of the spring is called, is shipped 
in bottles and carboys. It is sold for table use and as a light bicarbonated 
alkaline water for disorders of the liver and kidneys. 

The following analysis is recomputed from that given in circulars sent 
oul by the proprietor. 



CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. 151 

Analysis of Fonticello Lithia ivater. 
(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Total solids 46 . 

Silica (SiOo) 14. 

Iron (Fe) 1.6 

Aluminum (Al) 0.07 

Calcium (Ca) 2.0 

Magnesium (Mg) 0.61 

Sodium ( Na ) 3.5 

Potassium ( K) 1.5 

Manganese (Mn) trace 

Lithium (Li) 0.08 

Arsenic ( As ) trace 

Bromine ( Br ) trace 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) 13 . 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 2.5 

Phosphate radicle ( P0 4 ) . 04 

Chlorine (CI) 5.4 

Free carbon dioxide ( c. c. per liter ) 30 . 

Xot far from the Fonticello, in Manchester, on a hillside pasture lot 
in the shallow valley of a small run, is another spring flowing from a 
cleft in granite. This spring, known as the Bellfont, has been less adver- 
tised than the Fonticello, and the water is sold chiefly for table purposes 
in Eichmond. 

The water is clear, tasteless, and odorless. There were, in 1906, no 
buildings on the slope above the spring for 200 yards or more, and the 
sanitary surroundings were good. The flow, estimated at about 20 gallons 
per minute, is said not to vary during the year. The only improvements 
at the spring at the time it was seen were a cement basin and a small 
frame springhouse. In essential characteristics of origin and emergence, 
this spring resembles the Fonticello, and the water has much the same 
composition. The following analysis was furnished by the former pro- 
prietor, Clarence Yaden, of Manchester. 

Analysis of Bellfont Lithia water. 
(W. H. Taylor, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 44 . 

Silica (SiO,) 14. 

Iron ( Fe ) 1.0 

Calcium ( Ca ) 1.9 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 0.4 

Sodium ( Xa ) 3.8 

Potassium (K) 2.9 

Lithium ( Li ) . 03 

Bicarbonate radicle ( HC0 3 ) 5.3 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 10 . 

Chlorine (CI) 5.8 



152 rXDERGROUXD WATEB RESOUECES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVIXCE. 

About 1 mile southeast of Swansboro post-office, in a tract of land 
partly wooded, partly open, is a group of springs from which water has 
been sold from time to time. In 1905 the title passed to people who made 
extensive improvements with the apparent intent of having more ornate 
surroundings there than at any spring near Richmond. The spring-house, 
open at the sides, has a concrete floor, the basin is walled with slabs of 
white marble, and a niche of similar slabs surrounded by an ornamental 
iron screen is built above it. These springs, known as the Holly Lithia 
springs, are situated in a slight hollow of the almost level surface of the 
plain. The chief spring is a "boiling spring. 77 the water rising from a 
bed of coarse sand, gravel, and cobbles beneath a few feet of surface soil 
and loam. Dug wells in the vicinity strike granite at from 5 to 30 feet 
below surface. The water is clear, tasteless, and odorless, and contains 
free carbon dioxide, bubbles of which can be seen rising in the basin. 
AY hen the spring was inspected there were no dwellings nor other buildings 
so situated that contamination of the spring water from them was possible. 
The source of the water is evidently shallow, as indicated by the tempera- 
t u re 62%° F., in October, 1906. The present volume of flow was deter- 
mined, it is said, by the improvements made; a flow sufficient to fill a 
4-inch pipe was obtainable by lowering the level of the water in the spring 
basin 2 feet. 

The output has been sold for table use almost exclusively. The follow- 
ing analysis, furnished by the manager, J. P. Carson, of Richmond, shows 
a lower mineral content than the Fonticello and Bellfont springs, but the 
same type of mineralization. An analysis made thirteen years before, by 
('has. II. Chalkley, agrees closely with the later analysis. 

Analysis of Holly Lithia water. 
(Froehling& Robertson, analysts.) 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Total solids 35.4 

Silica (SiO.,) 11. 

Iron (Fe) 0.35 

Aluminum (Al) 0.8 

( lalcium (Ca) 1.4 

Magnesium (Mg) 35 

Barium ( Ba i ' 0.008 

Sodium (Na) 4.0 

Potassium (K) 1. 

Lithium (Li) 0.033 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO B ) 4.8 

Sulphate radicle (SO,) 4.3 

Phosphate radicle I PO«) 0.020 

Nitrate radicle (N0 8 ) 2.7 

Iodine (I) trace 

Chlorine (Ca) 4.4 



CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. 153 

Three miles south of Manchester, at Swineford Station, on the Atlantic 
Coast Line Kailroad, is the spring formerly known as Swineford's spring, 
and now called the Lion Lithia spring. It is owned by the Virginia Lithia 
Springs Co. It is a boiling spring, the water rising through coarse gravels 
in a terrace slope west of the railroad. The flow, which is said not to 
vary with the seasons, is about 10 gallons per minute. Its temperature 
when measured, October, 2, 1906, was 63° F. The owners do not claim for 
the water, which is clear and bright, without color, taste, or smell, any thera- 
peutic value, but simply state that it is a good table water. Part of the 
output is sold still in carboys, part is carbonated and sold in bottles, and 
part is used for making ginger ale. The following analysis is recomputed 
from one furnished by the company. 

Analysis of Lion Lithia water. 
(Froehling & Robertson, analysts.) 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Total solids 28.1 

Silica (SiO,) 10. 

Iron (Fe) 0.11 

Manganese (Mn) . 022 

Aluminum ( Al ) 0.18 

Calcium (Ca) 1.0 

Magnesium ( Mg) . 40 

Lithium (Li) 011 

Sodium ( Na ) 3 . 

Potassium ~t K ) 1.2 

Bicarbonate radicle ( HC0 3 ) 3.9 

Phosphate radicle ( P0 4 ) . 035 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 4.1 

Arsenate radicle (AsOJ 0.039 

Chlorine (CI) 3.6 

Iodine (I) trace 

Bromine ( Br ) trace 

Free carbon dioxide, 54 c. c. per liter. 

When the writer saw the spring there were no buildings above it for 
a considerable distance, and the chances of pollution were remote. The 
spring house had a tile floor, concrete walls, and an open roof. From the 
basin the water flowed to the bottling house, a two-story frame building 
400 feet distant, which contained carbonators, automatic washing machines, 
etc. 

Four miles west of Manchester, in a shallow ravine, is a spring with a 
flow of 25 to 30 gallons per minute, known as the Beaufont. It issues 
from a cleft in granite, and is covered by a frame spring house with cement 
floor. The water, which is clear and without taste or odor, had, when the 



154 UNDERGROUND WATEB EESOUKCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

spring was visited on October 2. 1906, a temperature of 57° F. It flowed 
through a tile pipe line to a bottling house by the roadside, 100 yards or 
more from the spring. Most of the output was said to be used in making 
ginger ale. The following analysis, furnished by the proprietor, has been 
recomputed to express results in standard form. 

Analysis of Beaufont Lithia water. 
(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1.000,000 

Total solids 63 . 

Silica (SiO.) 16. 

Iron (Fe) 0.25 

Aluminum ( Al ) 8.4 

Calcium ( Ca ) 1.4 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 1.0 

Sodium ( Xa ) 4.0 

Potassium ( K ) 2.1 

Manganese i Mn ) trace 

Lithium (Li) 0.07 

Arsenic ( As ) trace 

Bicarbonate radicle ( HC0 3 ) 15 . 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 1.3 

Phosphate radicle (P0 4 ) 0.04 

Chlorine (CI) 5.2 

Iodine ( I ) . 06 

Bromine ( Br ) trace 

Free carbon dioxide ( C0 2 ) 37 c. c. per liter 

In 1906 the land about the spring was largely wood-covered; there were 
no dwellings near, and pollution was improbable. 

Situated at Buckhead Springs Station, on the Seaboard Air Line Bail- 
road, about % mile east of Centralia, at the head of a run that empties into 
Proctor Creek, are the Buckhead springs, a group of three, with a total 
flow of about 214 gallons per minute. The water, which comes from 
sandy beds in the Sunderland formation, is bright and sparkling, without 
taste or odor. The flow is said not to vary in volume or temperature through- 
out the year. The proprietor has taken strict precautions to insure the 
sanitary excellence of the spring surroundings. The residences and farm 
buildings on a small area of level ground, a remnant of a high Columbia 
terrace, arc aboul 300 yards from the springs. Concrete walls and tile 
drains altoui the springs prevent the entrance of surface water. The 
water flows from the concrete basin at the spring-house through an enamel 
pipe to an enamel filling basin in the bottling house, a frame building, 
60 by 20 feet, near the railroad track, where it is at once securely sealed. 
The nut put has a wide -ale a- a table and as a medicinal water. It con- 



CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. 155 

tains free carbon dioxide, hence is light and pleasant. The following 
analysis, recomputed from one furnished by the proprietor, Thos. S. 
Wheelwright, of Centralia, shows a low mineral content. 

Analysis of Buchhead Chloride Lithia water. 
(Froehling & Robertson, analysts.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 43 . 

Silica (Si0 2 ) 7.4 

Iron (Fe) 0.1 

Aluminum (Al) 0.53 

Calcium (Ca) 1.4 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 2.5 

Sodium (Na) 3.6 

Potassium (K) 2.3 

Lithium (Li) 0.001 

Manganese (Mn) . 009 

Barium (Ba) 0.02 

Arsenic ( As ) faint trace 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) 3.1 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) . 72 

Nitrate radicle (N0 3 ) 8 . 80 

Phosphate radicle (P0 4 ) 0.009 

Chlorine (CI) 11 . 

Free carbon dioxide (C0 2 ), 15 e. c. per liter. 

About 5 miles south of Manchester, near Temple's station, is the Camp- 
field spring or well. It is situated in a hollow. The water flows from a 
bed of gravel covered by sand and loam. The water is shipped to Eich- 
mond, Norfolk, and other points, and is sold for table and medicinal use. 

The following analysis is recomputed from that supplied by the 
company owning the spring. 

Analysis of Campfield Lithia water. 
(N. B. Tucker, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 28 . 

Silica (Si0 2 ) 5.3 

Iron (Fe) 0.3 

Aluminum ( Al ) 0.11 

Manganese ( Mn ) trace 

Calcium ( Ca ) 0.8 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 0.9 

Barium ( Ba ) trace 

Sodium (Na ) 3.2 

Potassium ( K ) 1.9 

Lithium ( Li ) . 05 

Arsenic ( As ) trace 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) 8.0 



156 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Analysis of Campfield Lithia water — {Continued). 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Sulphate radicle (S0 4 ) 2.4 

Phosphate radicle ( P0 4 ) . 03 

Chlorine ( CI ) 5.2 

Bromine ( Br ) trace 

Iodine ( I ) trace 

Free ammonia 0.002 

Albuminoid ammonia . 009 

Nitrogen as nitrates 0.0 

Nitrogen as nitrites trace ( ? ) 

Free carbon dioxide gas. 27 c. c. per liter. 

Besides these springs several others in eastern Chesterfield County are 
or have been of commercial importance, including the Urquhart Lithia 
spring, 4 miles from Richmond, and the Rocky Run south of Wiseville. 
A partial analysis of the water from the latter, furnished by the proprietor, 
David Adkin, is appended in recalculated form. 

Partial analysis of Rocky Bun Lithia water. 
( Analyst unknown. ) 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Calcium ( Ca) 40 . 

Magnesium (Mg) 0.46 

Sodium ( Xa ) 1.1 

Potassium ( K ) 1.6 

Iron (Fe) 1.1 

Lithium (Li) 0.07 

( arbonate radicle ( C0 8 ) 1.2 

Sulphate radicle (S0 4 ) 6.3 



hi the southern part of Chesterfield County are several springs from 
which water is or has been sold in Petersburg. One of these, the Patrol 
Oaks Mineral spring, three-quarters of a mile northeast of Ettricks, is a 
well rather than a spring. The water is clear, tasteless, and odorless; the 
flow is about 6 gallons per minute. 

Another spring ju>t north of the Powhatan highway bridge across 
Appomattox River is owned by a company and was once an important 
source of drinking water in the city of Petersburg. It is known as the 
Aqueduct spring. The water is still sold in the city, being delivered to 
houses at a nominal charge, and is the chief drinking water in Powhatan. 

There are Bevera] springs along the valley side Dear Powhatan, some 
of the water coming from the Pamunkey (the contact of the basal pebble 
bed of this formation with dark clays of the Potomac being exposed just 
below the springs), and some of the water coming from tinder the Columbia 
loam which hide- the older formations. The water is tasteless and- odor- 



CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. 157 

less, clear and soft, and the slope above the springs has been so sparsely 
inhabited that the possible contamination of the sources has not called 
for investigation. 

Wells. — Dug wells are almost the sole source of underground water 
for domestic supply. There are few drilled wells. The large manufactur- 
ing concerns and the railroad yards in Manchester either use city water 
or pump their own supplies from James Eiver. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES 

Manchester, now a part of Eichmond, owned its waterworks in 1906 
and distributed filtered James Eiver water. In the outskirts of the city, 
particularly to the west, are many shallow dug wells. The suburb of 
Swansboro, for instance, with a population of several thousand people, had 
no public supply system in 1906. The wells were dug through Lafayette 
cobble loams and decomposed granite, some obtaining water from the 
Lafayette and some from the granite. In places where firm granite comes 
near the surface more or less blasting has been done, usually with indifferent 
success. Where the cover of loam is thin, dug wells in such a thickly settled 
area are particularly liable to pollution; where 25 feet of loam, sand, and 
rotten granite are found above water, there is less danger; but wells 
should not under any circumstances be located within 75 feet of cesspools, 
privies, and other sources of contamination, and should be properly pro- 
tected. In Manchester the local authorities have been closing dug wells 
as city service is extended. 

At Bermuda Hundred on the bank of James Eiver dug wells average 
15 feet deep; the supply is not considered as satisfactory as that from 
springs, of which there are several along the foot of the low bluff facing 
the river. One of these, on property of the Farmville & Powhatan Eailroad, 
has a bold flow of soft water, sufficient for the needs of several families. 

At Centralia dug wells go down 18 to 20 feet, and obtain soft water 
from Columbia sands and clays. 

There are in Chester about 50 dug wells 25 to 40 feet deep which get 
water from Columbia sands. Neither at Centralia nor Chester do wells go 
to hard rock. 

At Ettricks, just across Appomattox Eiver from Petersburg, dug wells 
are 12 to 45 feet deep, averaging 20 feet. They are not sunk to rock, but 
get water of varying quality, mostly soft, from beds in the Columbia. 

Dug wells in Powhatan are sunk in Potomac and Columbia sands and 
gravels. They are about 20 feet deep, and some yield water of 



158 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

auspicious quality. Much of the drinking water used is taken from the 
Aqueduct Spring, previously mentioned. 

Conclusions. — Satisfactory supplies for isolated residences and farm 
buildings can be had from dug wells. In thickly settled areas water much 
les> Liable to pollution can be had from drilled wells. Owing to the dis- 
section of the Coastal Plain formations by the gorge of James Eiver, flow- 
ing wells are not to be expected. 

DINWIDDIE COUNTY. 

General description. — Dinwiddie County, formed in 1T52 from Prince 
George County, lies between Appomattox Eiver and Xottoway River. Only 
a narrow strip along the east line of the county, which contains the city of 
Petersburg, is included in the Coastal Plain. 

Most of this area has an elevation of more than 150 feet, and is included 
within the Lafayette and Sunderland terraces. Small patches of the 
Wicomico and lover terraces are found along Appomattox Eiver near 
Petersburg. From an elevation of nearly 300 feet within a few miles of 
Petersburg there is an abrupt descent north to Lieutenant Eun and 
Appomattox Eiver, and a gentle slope southeastward. The southward- 
flowing streams which head in the divide, tributaries of Blackwater Eiver. 
flow through swampy valleys. 

Geology. — Crystalline rocks underlie the Coastal Plain section of the 
county at no great depth. Potomac, Pamunkey, and Chesapeake beds are 
all exposed in the immediate vicinity of Petersburg, but elsewhere are 
usually hidden by the Lafayette or the Columbia formations. The three, 
however, may be seen along Livetenant Eun. Potomac arkosic sands and 
cobble beds are exposed near the mouth of the run at the crossing of the 
Norfolk & Western Eailroad; Pamunkey greensands are visible at the east 
end of the dam at the city pumping station ; and light-colored diatomaceous 
clays and dark greenish sandy clays of the Chesapeake, full of clam and 
scallop shells, are to be seen along the run and in its bed as far west as the 
Seaboard Air Line Eailroad. Both the Potomac and Pamunkey are barely 
thicker than feather edges near Petersburg. The Chesapeake overlaps them 
and may have an extreme thickness of more than 100 feet at the eastern end 
of the county. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Occurrence and character. — All the Coastal Plain formations carry 
ground water, bul the depths to the water table and the character of the 



ELIZABETH CITY COUXTY. 159 

water vary greatly. The chief sources of supply are the Lafayette and 
Sunderland formations, though a considerable number of wells are sunk in 
the Talbot and Patuxent sands and gravels near Appomattox Eiver. 

Springs. — There are numerous springs along hillsides and stream 
valleys, but they are usually small and of little importance, except for 
watering stock. No mineral springs from which water is shipped on a 
commercial scale are reported. 

Wells. — Dug wells are the principal source of supply. Throughout the 
rural districts wood curbing is commonly used, but near Petersburg many 
dug wells are curbed with brick or stone. There are very few deep drilled 
wells in the Coastal Plain portion of the county. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

The public supply system of the city of Petersburg gets water from 
Livetenant Eun. There are, in the outskirts of the city, many shallow 
dug wells that vary greatly in depth and in probable freedom from pollu- 
tion. Some dug wells in the city are used for boiler supply and other in- 
dustrial purposes. 

The only deep wells reported are those of J. B. Worth & Co., near the 
river. They are 100 and 150 feet deep, respectively, and yield under a 
pump 50 gallons of water per minute, which is used for condensing because 
of its temperature, 59° F. 

Near Eowanta wells are 20 to 60 feet deep, most of them being about 
.25 feet. The deeper wells in this part of the county go through the Sunder- 
land formation and get water, which is apt to be hard, from shell marl 
beds in the Chesapeake. 

Conclusions. — In the rural districts dug wells not near sources of pollu- 
tion, if properly protected against the entrance of surface impurities, will 
yield satisfactory supplies. In the city of Petersburg and its more thickly 
settled suburbs drilled wells are preferable for sanitary reasons. Flowing 
wells are not to be expected anywhere in the county. 

ELIZABETH CITY COUNTY. 

General description. — Elizabeth City County, formed in 1634 as one of 
the eight original shires of the Virginia colony, covers the tip of the 
peninsula, the strip of land between James and York rivers. The county 
contains the towns of Hampton and Phoebus, and the military post of 
Fort Monroe, near Old Point Comfort. At Old Point Comfort is the 



160 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Chamberlain Hotel, a famous health and pleasure resort; near Phoebus is 
a Xational Soldiers' Home; and at Hampton is the Hampton Xormal and 
Agricultural Institute. 

The county has a flat ill-drained surface, most of it being within the 
area covered by the lowest of the Columbia terraces, the Talbot. Eleva- 
tions of about 30 feet are found in the low terrace along the Warwick 
County line. This plain grades very gently east to the salt marshes and 
mud flats of the shores. 

Geology. — The yellow, buff, and gray loams and sands of the Talbot 
cover practically the entire surface of the county. The maximum thick- 
ness of the Talbot on the east side of the county is uncertain, but may 
amount to 50 feet. Below the Columbia lie Chesapeake, Pamunkey, Upper 
Cretaceous, and Potomac beds. The base of the Chesapeake beds on the 
east side of the county is about 600 feet below sea level. Beneath are about 
150 feet of Pamunkey, 500 feet of Upper Cretaceous, and 900 feet of 
Potomac beds, the crystalline rocks lying perhaps 2,250 feet below sea level. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The water table lies near the surface, and 
dug and driven wells get water at from 5 to 15 feet. The quality of the 
ground water is variable. Along the shores wells are liable to become salty 
under heavy pumping, and where the surface loams and sands are thin, 
wells go down into shell beds which yield hard water. The Chesapeake 
sands are uncertain water-bearers. The sands are local and seldom yield 
free flows. The water is iron-bearing in the upper beds and brackish in 
the deeper ones. 

Springs. — There are no springs of commercial importance in the county. 
Most of the so-called springs are very shallow wells, dug in hollows where 
the w r ater table is but a foot or two below the surface; many used for stock 
and household purposes have unsanitary surroundings and are liable to be 
badly polluted. 

Wells. — Dug wells art 1 mostly used, but there are many driven wells in 
the county. The deep drilled wells have been mentioned in the discussion 
of the Norfolk-Newport News area on pages 97-116. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

Hampton obtains water from the Newport Xews Light & Water Co., a 
corporation tli;it Bupplies surface water from a watershed in Warwick and 



ELIZABETH CITY COUNTY. 161 

York counties to Newport News, Phoebus, the National Soldiers' Home, 
Hampton Normal and Collegiate Institute, and Fort Monroe. Within the 
corporate limits of Hampton are perhaps 3,000 persons, of Avhom fully one- 
half used this water in 1906. Another company, the Peninsula Pure 
Water Co., proposed to supply Hampton, Phoebus, Old Point Comfort, and 
the lower part of the county generally. The water was to come from ponds 
near Bethel, 9 miles from Hampton. 

In the suburbs of Hampton about nine-tenths of the population use 
driven wells which get water at 10 to 1.2 feet in blue and white sands and 
marls. Much of the well water in Hampton is too hard for laundry use, 
while that near the shore is brackish ; hence there are many cisterns. Near 
the Courthouse a well, elevation about 5 feet above mean high tide, dug for 
fire protection, is 25 feet in diameter and 22 feet deep; it passed through 
marl for 16 feet. It is now used for watering horses. 

In the suburbs of Hampton some dug wells were still used as a source 
of drinking water in 1906, but their use was condemned by local health 
officials. 

At Hampton Normal and Collegiate Institute most of the water used 
is supplied by the Newport News Co. There are several dug wells 10 to 15 
feet deep, cased with 16-inch tile. The elevation of the Institute grounds, 
which border a tidal inlet, does not average over 5 feet; hence the well 
water has a high chlorine content. It is examined frequently for indica- 
tion of possible contamination. The following determinations, made by 
W. S. Sweetser of the Institute, show the character of water from the better 
wells near the shores of lower Elizabeth City County. 

Analyses of water from wells on grounds of Hampton Normal and 

Agricultural Institute. 
(W. S. Sweetser, analyst.) 



Location of well Parts per 1,000,000 



Machine shop . 

Hospital 

Trade school . . 
Whittier School 




A well just outside the Institute grounds, close to the shore, gave water 
which contained 111 parts of chlorine per 1,000,000, but this water was 
pronounced dangerous. 



oHigh in nitrates; not used. 



12 



162 CTNDEBGBOUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

A 12 -foot well dug on the Hemenway farm 6 miles from Hampton on 
Back River obtains water from a marl bed. The well is about 500 feet 
from salt water; the elevation is 6 feet, and depth to water 3 to 6 feet. The 
following partial analysis was made by the chemical laboratory of the 
Institute. 

Analysis of water from well on Hemenway farm. 

(W. S. Sweetser, analyst.) 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Calcium (Ca) 188 . 

Magnesium (Mg) 10.5 

Sulphates as S0 4 32 . 

Total hardness, as CaCO a 38. 4 

( hlorine 113. 

The Soldiers' Home, officially designated the Southern Branch of the 
National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, is just outside the 
municipal limits of Phoebus. Over nine-tenths of the water used is ob- 
tained from the Newport News Co. A few driven wells about the grounds 
furnish drinking water. Cistern water is used for flushing, and salt water 
for flushing and for fire protection. 

In Phoebus there are many driven wells 13 to 15 feet deep which get 
water in Columbia gravels, under quicksand and yellow loam. The water 
is generally hard, but is used for all household purposes. In 1906 probably 
three-fourths of the population used such wells, the remainder taking 
Newport News water. 

The Hotel Chamberlain uses some 60,000 gallons of water daily, about 
half of which is furnished by the Newport News Co., and half obtained 
from two dug wells 10 feet in diameter and 14 feet deep just outside the 
municipal limits of Phoebus on the Soldiers' Home grounds. The eleva- 
tion of the surface at the wells is 8 feet above mean high tide. The wells 
are bricked, and the water rises from sands of the Talbot formation, normal 
water level being about that of mean high tide. Either well can be pumped 
dry in two hours by a 1 by 6 inch duplex steam pump running 60 strokes 
per minute, and in get the most water the wells are pumped together about 
8 hours out of the 2 I. The wells were dug for the old Hygeia Hotel, which 
bad io get water by boat from Norfolk. The well water, though slightly 
hard, is used as it comes from the well for all purposes except drinking; 
for drinking it is distilled. The flow from the dee]) artesian well at the 
hotel (see page L05) i> used for flushing only. 

At Fort Monroe three attempts to get good water by deep drilling ended 
with the well Mink to granite in 1902 (see page 100). AJboul 1894 the 



ESSEX COUNTY. 163 

Government drove a series of wells on the mainland from which water was 
pnmped to the fort by a pipe under the creek. The supply was satisfactory 
for a while, but other wells were driven nearby the city of Phoebus, and 
under heavy pumping the wells all became salty and were abandoned. In 
1906, the post used for all purposes about 300,000 gallons of fresh water 
daily, supplied by the Xewport News Co. Salt water is used for tire 
protection. 

Conclusions. — Dug wells in places where the water table lies as near 
the surface as in Hampton County are peculiarly liable to be polluted, 
and their use on landholdings as small as the average house lot is altogether 
objectionable. Driven wells that go at least 10 feet below the water table 
are much to be preferred. The prospects for getting water of good quality 
by deep drilled wells in the eastern part of the county are decidedly un- 
favorable. 

ESSEX COUNTY. 

General description. — Essex County, formed in 1692 from Eappa- 
hannock County, lies on the south side of Eappahannock Eiver, in the 
western part of the Coastal Plain. 

Topographically the county resembles many other counties of the 
Coastal Plain. A high terrace, the Sunderland, with a slightly rolling sur- 
face, forms the divide between Rappahannock and Mattaponi rivers. Near 
Eappahannock Eiver this terrace is deeply cut by creek valleys. Where the 
Wicomico terrace is missing bold headlands of the Sunderland overlook the 
river, and are noticeable features of the topography. The height of the 
Sunderland plain at the northwest end of the county is about 180 feet; at 
the southeast end about 150 feet. 

Underlying the loams and gravelly beds of the Columbia terraces, the 
sandy and diatomaceous clays, clayey sands, and shell beds of the Chesa- 
peake group can be seen in many road cuts. The basal part of the Chesa- 
peake carries many indurated la} r ers from a few inches to a few feet thick 
that are a source of trouble to well drillers. The dark greensand marls of 
the Pamunkey underlie the Chesapeake, but are not exposed at the surface 
anywhere in the county. The top of the Pamunkey is near sea level at the 
west end of the county, and 300 feet below at the east end. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Character and extent. — The chief sources of ground water are the sands 
of the Sunderland and Talbot terraces. Wells in headlands of the Sunder- 



164 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

land formation, near Caret, Upper Mount Landing, and Dunnsville, are 
50 to 60 feet deep, while back from the valley front and away from stream 
gulleys, as at Center Cross, are wells 15 feet deep or even less. On the low 
terraces along Eappahannock Eiver dug wells are 10 to 25 feet deep, and in 
the lowlands at the head of Pianketank Eiver are even shallower. The 
quality of the well waters varies greatly. The waters from the Columbia 
formations are generally soft and low in iron, but wells that strike the 
Chesapeake shell marls, either near surface or beneath the Columbia, get 
hard water. 

Springs. — Springs are abundant, but only a small proportion are used 
for household supply, and none is of commercial importance. Practically 
all the springs are of the usual Coastal Plain type and most of them flow 
from the contact between the Chesapeake sandy clays and the clean, sharp 
sands of the Columbia formations. 

None of the springs is now of commercial importance, though two 
have attracted attention. One of these, near Dunbrooke, is situated in a 
little hollow. Iron crusts lie about the spring and the water rises from a 
bed of sand in the Sunderland formation. The water is perfectly clear 
when fresh, but contains iron enough to leave a slightly yellow deposit 
about the spring. It has some local repute for medicinal value, but lack of 
convenient transportation facilities has retarded efforts to put it on the 
market. 

Two springs, one of which was formerly a resort, are on land near 
Meade, owned by Charles C. Tombs, and now used as a camp-meeting 
ground. One is called a sulphur, the other a lithia spring, but both are of 
the same type and the waters are much alike. Meade camp-meeting ground 
is on the Sunderland plain in a grove of young hardwood. Spring-fed 
tributaries of a creek are eating into the plain, and just south of the 
camp-meeting grounds one of these has made a gulley some 40 feet deep. 
At the head of the gulley is the so-called lithia spring. It trickles from 
between dark greenish Chesapeake clay and overlying gray sands and iron 
crusts at the base of the Sunderland formation. The flow is not large, 
possibly two gallons per minute. In 1906, a shallow basin, 5 feet long, 
with wood sides, was the only improvement at the spring. The water is 
soft, contains a little iron, and is clear and odorless, with a very slight "iron" 
taste. The thickness of the overlying loams, the excellent surface drainage, 
the short time the grounds are frequented, and the sanitary precautions 
taken Bhould keep the spring from becoming polluted. 

The other spring, situated at the foot of a slope on the west side of the 
camp-meeting grounds, is now known as the iron spring but was called a 



ESSEX COUNTY. 165 

sulphur spring. It flows from sands beneath a ledge of iron-stone near the 
base of the Sunderland formation. The water is perfectly clear and color- 
less in the basin, but contains a little iron, as is shown by yellow stains on 
the wood trough. It is said to have had a decided "sulphur odor," but this 
is now barely perceptible. Sixty years or more ago this spring was made a 
resort, and a hotel erected. The improvements have disappeared, and, 
though the water has a considerable reputation as a remedy for various 
complaints, it is not sold, though more or less is taken away by visitors. 
Field assays of the water of the two springs are given in table 6. 

Other springs of note from their size, quality of water, or improve- 
ments, are owned hj Armistead Ransome, of Dunnsville; J. H. Allen, of 
Layton; and Clayton Stafford, of Bowler's Wharf. Mr. Ransome's spring 
is said to flow 30 gallons per minute of soft water. The water from Mr. 
Allen's spring was once shipped to Washington, D. C, for use by a druggist. 
Mr. Stafford's spring flows 8 gallons per minute of clear water from the 
base of the Sunderland scarp. It is equipped with a hydraulic ram for 
household supply. 

Wells. — Dug wells are the chief source of supply. In the Sunderland 
formation they are usually curbed with wood for 16 feet at the bottom; in 
the Talbot they are often curbed to the top. 

Wells drilled deep enough to reach the water-bearing sands inter- 
stratified with rocky layers at the base of the Chesapeake are numerous 
along the Rappahannock River, there being fully 30 in the town of Tappa- 
hannock alone. They are mostly bored to get flows sufficient for domestic 
use, hence are of small diameter, usually 1% inches. The reported depths 
vary from 250 to 270 feet below mean high tide; the reported heads vary 
from 10 to 30 feet above it. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Tappahannock many dug wells get hard water at 12 to 15 feet. 
Nearly all the water now used for domestic purposes is obtained from flow- 
ing wells that strike sands underlying "rocks" at the base of the Calvert 
formation at a depth of 270 feet below mean high tide. The wells are 
mostly 1% inches in diameter with a 2-inch casing driven through the 
Columbia sands and loams into the Chesapeake clays; the later wells fre- 
quently have a %-inch pipe to the bottom. The elevation of the terrace on 
which the town stands is 28 feet, but the flows, which vary with the tide, 
are usually small, from 1 to 2 gallons per minute. At no place in Tide- 
water Virginia, however, is there more economy in the use of water. Some 
wells supply two and even three houses, the water being piped in some 
instances several hundred feet, either directly from the well or from a tank 



166 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

at the well. There is no public supply system, but, as a safeguard in ease of 
fire, a number of masonry tanks have been constructed by the town which 
are kept full by the overflow of certain wells. 

The water is clear, and, though containing more lime than some Chesa- 
peake flows, it is soft, adapted to all household purposes, and an admirable 
table water; a slight ''sulphur" odor quickly disappears when the water 
stands in an open vessel. The temperature at the well mouth averages 
61° F. A canning factory and a large pickling house use the water. 

There are about 30 wells in or near the town, and, according to the 
driller who has sunk most of them, the succession of materials is as follows: 

Generalized section at Tappahannocl'. 
(Authority, 0. D. Hale, driller.) 



Materia] 


Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 


Sand and light clay 


65 

135 

93 

1 


65 


Blue clay with rock layers % inch to 6 inches thick; a little 

water at 135 feet 

Mixed clav and sand 

Thin crust of shell rock; variegated sand below; water-bearing 


ISO 
273 
274 



A noteworthy feature of the Tappahannock wells is the cypress "logs*' 
which drillers report at about 60 feet; some of them, said to he several feet 
thick, cause much trouble in drilling. 

Of the individual wells, the one at the pickle house of Donaldson & 
Shnltz has the freest flow; it is on the river edge, and the mouth of the 
well is only 4 feet above tide. The flow in 1906 was 5y 2 gallons per minute, 
but is said to have been 12 gallons. Another good well is at the residence 
of B. P. Brockenborough on the edge of the terrace overlooking the river. It 
is cased with 2-inch pipe to the bottom, 272 feet, and has a 3-inch casing 
down 150 feet. The water, which is said to rise 16 feet above surface and 
more than 30 feet above mean high tide, is piped to the residence. 

The following partial analysis of water from the well of R. T. Cauthorn 
shows how free from organic matter is the water from the principal water 
bed. Field assays of water from wells at Tappahannock and other places 
are given in table 9. 

Partial analysis of water from well of E. T. Cauthorn, Tappahannock. 

(G. H. Lehmann, analyst.) 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Total solids 494. 

Volatile matter 48. 

Chlorine 1 .{)."> 



ESSEX COUNTY. 167 

Partial analysis of water from well of R. T. Cautliom, Tappahannoclc — 

(Continued). 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Nitrogen, as free ammonia . 

Nitrogen, as albuminoid ammonia 0. 

Nitrogen, as nitrates . 

Nitrogen, as nitrites . 

Sulphates, as S0 4 34 . 

Hardness 25 . 

Just north of Tappahannock, E. B. Broekenborough has four artesian 
wells at his large stock farm. One of these, at the manager's home, is used 
for domestic purposes; the other three, at barns and outbuildings, are for 
watering stock. In volume of flow and quality of water the wells resemble 
those in the village of Tappahannock. Up the river there are wells at the 
farms of J. P. Taliaferro and C. B. Mallory, southeast of Caret, and still 
farther upstream are those of Joseph Baker, J. H. C. Beverly, Mrs. M. S. 
Sale, and H. K. Baylor, all of which tap the same water bed. 

West and south of Tappahannock artesian wells on Hoskins and 
Piscataquis creeks and along the Eappahannock include those of John 
Bradley, G. F. Croxton, and J. L. Kriete. 

The first important group of wells down the river is at Ware's Wharf, 
where there are 5 which, though shallower than those at Tappahannock, 
going to an average depth of 185 feet below sea level, yield water of the 
same general character. The flows at individual wells vary with the tide, 
but range from % to 2 gallons per minute, with heads as high as 16 feet 
above sea level. The following record of one well was given from memory. 

Record of well of R. L. Ware estate, Ware's Wharf. 
(Authority, R. L. Ware.) 



Material 



Thickness 

(Feet) 



Depth 
(Feet) 



Surface soil, clay and sand j 30 30 

Marl 140 170 

Rocks 1 35 205 

Another important group of wells is at Bowler's Wharf, 3 miles below 
Ware's Wharf. Here 10 wells get water from varying depths, the main 
flows being at about 165 to 180 feet below mean high tide. The water- 
bearing sand contains many rocky streaks, and the flows of nearby wells 
differ, the distribution of these impervious layers being a determining 
factor. Above the main flow is a weak one at about 130 feet, and below the 
main flow is another at about 240 feet. The record of the well drilled at 
the steamboat wharf ran about as follows : 



168 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Record of well of Garrett & Hunt, Bowler's Wharf. 
(Authority, I. W. Hunt, owner.) 



Material 


Thickness 

(Feet) 


Depth 

(Feet) 


Water 


10 

15 

123 

1 

18 


10 


Sand and gravel 


25 


Sand 


148 
149 


Strata of rock 1 to 9 inches thick and 6 inches to 4 feet apart; 
blue mud and shells, gray and red sand, and gravel between 


107 



This well, situated at an oyster house on the end of the wharf, flows a 
full 2-inch stream, 30 gallons per minute, at an elevation of about 5 feet 
above mean high tide and has a head of over 15 feet. It is one of the finest 
wells on Rappahannock River. In 1906, the flow was used as a table water 
on the steamboats plying between Fredericksburg and Baltimore, and for 
washing oysters. 

Another fine well, at the canning factory of the Claybrook & Neale 
Packing Co., has a larger flow than that of Garrett & Hunt, namely, 45 to 
50 gallons per minute at 5 feet elevation. Another well, with a flow of 17 
gallons per minute at an elevation of 10 feet, is used by C. P. Garrett. 

On the river shore 3 miles south of Bowler's Wharf, two wells have been 
drilled near a canning factory owned by Latimer Kriete to depths of 190 
and 195 feet, respectively, and reach the same horizon as the wells at the 
wharf. One of the wells has a head of 30 feet above mean high tide, and 
flows 32 gallons at an elevation of 4 feet; the flow' of the other was reduced 
by an accident in drilling. In a boiler the water has a tendency to foam 
and is said to form a white scale. 

Just below Mr. Kriete's house, which stands on a projecting headland 
of the Sunderland terrace, a well was drilled to a depth of 300 feet, but, as 
the surface elevation is fully 65 feet, no flow was obtained. 

Near Jones Point, 7 miles below Bowler's Wharf, are several flowing 
wells. One of these, owned by Garrett & Taylor, is IV2 inches in 
diameter and 221 feet deep. It flows 20 gallons per minute al 5 feel above 
mean high tide. The following record is reported: 



FAIKFAX COUNTY. 



169 



Record of well of Garrett & Taylor on Jones Point, northwest of Butylo. 

(Authority, I. W. Hunt, driller.) 



Material 


Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 




15 

3 

107 

106 


15 


Gravel, surface water 


18 


Alternating layers of sand and rock ; 22 rocks in all : 
flow of water at 127 feet; main flow at 181 feet 


first 


125 
231 



Of the villages in the country using dug wells as sources of supply, 
Center Cross is one of the most important. The wells are sunk in the 
Sunderland formation to depths of 15 to 35 feet, and as a rule yield sof + 
water. Information regarding dug wells at various places in the county is 
given in the following table : 

Details of dug wells in Essex County. 



Location 



Banks 

Dunnsville 

Caret 

Center Cross . 
Howertons .... 

Laytons 

Lloyds 

Loretto 

Mount Landing 

Meade 

Pedro 



Depth of 
well 

(Feet) 


Water bed 


Qualitj T of 
water 


20-60 




Soft 


32-80 




Soft, hard 


25-48 






12-60 
12-30 


Loam and sand 


Soft 


15-30 


Sand 




25-30 




18-20 




Soft 


10-60 


Sand 




20-50 




20-50 


Sand 





Conclusions. — Dug wells on high ground, if precautions are taken in 
locating and protecting them against the entrance of surface impurities, 
will yield satisfactory supplies. On the low terrace along Eappahannock 
River and its tributaries, flows of excellent water for domestic use can be 
had at comparatively low cost. There is a possibility of getting flows along 
Pianketank River, but the chances for flows at over 30 feet above sea level 
are poor. Flows of good quality and of equal or larger volume can un- 
doubtedly be had from sands below those already developed. 



FAIRFAX COUNTY. 

General description. — Fairfax County, formed in 1742 from Prince 
William County, is in the northern part of the State, and is bounded on 
the east by Potomac River. The Coastal Plain portion along Potomac 



1T0 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

River is about 16 miles long, but nowhere more than 6 miles wide. In it 
is -Mount Vernon, the residence of General Washington. 

The topograph}" is rolling and broken as a whole. Along Potomac 
River are some nearly level stretches on low terraces, with elevations of 
20 to 60 feet. Along the deeply scored sides of the Potomac valley, 
at higher elevations, are remnants of older terraces. An inlier of the 
Lafayette formation covers a considerable area north of Weddeburn and 
Dunn Loring, and caps the highest point in the county, Peach Grove Hill, 
at an elevation of 500 feet. The principal creeks in the Coastal Plain sec- 
tion of the county, Cameron Run, Accotink Creek, and Pohick Creek, are 
8 to 15 miles long. 

Back from the river the crystalline rocks are exposed in creek beds and 
on the valley slopes above. Near the river the sands, gravel beds, and clays 
of the Potomac group outcrop. The contact between the crystalline bed rock 
and the Potomac dips east fully -10 feet to the mile, so that at Mount 
Vernon the Potomac has a thickness of 525 feet. The Patuxent formation 
with its characteristic arkosic sands and dark clays includes fully 350 feet 
of the total thickness of the Potomac. 

The maximum thickness of the Lafayette formation on the inlier north 
of Dunn Loring may he -10 feet. The Columbia formations vary in thick- 
ness from a thin edge to more than e35 i'cct. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Occurrence and character. — The decayed top of the crystalline rocks 
and the Potomac, Lafayette, and Columbia beds above contain ground 
water. The depth 1o water and the quality of the supplies vary greatly 
with the location of the wells and the character of the formations pene- 
i r;iifd. One well may find plenty of water in Columbia gravel within a 
few feet of the surface, while another on a nearby slope, where the Columbia 
i >eds have been removed, may have to go deep into the Potomac beds or the 
granite to get a sufficient supply. 

As in other counties along the "fall line." the water from the Lafayette 
and the higher-lying formations of the Columbia group is generally soft 
and slightly mineralized. On the lowest of the Columbia terraces the 
ground water in some places contains much iron: in others, it is excellent. 
The Potomac sands contain much water, hut the sands that yield water 
freely are of irregular extent and the quality of the water varies. On high 
ground the crystalline rocks as a rule carry good water. 



FAIRFAX COUNTY. 



171 



Springs. — Springs are numerous, but most of them are of small flow ; 
only a few are of fair size. The waters are usually soft and pure and are 
often used for household purposes. From a few springs water lias been 
shipped, but none is now of commercial importance. 

Wells. — Dug wells, the main source of domestic supply, are frequently 
lined with stone and brick. Some are cased with large tile. Depths to 
Avater and the yield vary widely. Many wells are so situated and protected 
that there is little chance of pollution; others, particularly some on level 
stretches of the lowest terrace, have insanitary surroundings. Xearly all 
the drilled wells are 6 inches in diameter. Those on the lowest terrace get 
water from sands in the Patapsco or Patuxent formations of the Potomac 
group. Those on the high ground go into decayed or solid granite or 
gneiss. On the high ground no wells over 200 feet deep have been reported, 
but there are several of greater depth near Potomac River. The yield of 
the deep wells on high ground is seldom large, but nearly always sufficient 
for domestic purposes. Of the wells sunk on low ground to the Patuxent 
sands some yield large supplies, others only enough for the needs of a 
household of average size. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At the military post of Fort Hunt on Potomac River, 8 miles below 
Alexandria, all the water used is obtained from an 8-inch well sunk to a 
13-foot bed of white sand in the Potomac group, 202 to 215 feet below the 
level of the terrace. The following record was obtained by Darton : 

Record of well at Fort Hunt. 
(Authority, W. C. Miller, driller.) 



Material 



Yellow clay 

Blue clay 

Heavy sand and gravel, with little water 

Red, blue, and yellow clays; streak of sandy blue clay with 

a little water at 122 feet 

Red and blue clay 

Coarse white sand with large supply of good water rising 

within 17 feet of surface 



Thickness 

(Feet) 


Depth 

(Feet) 


24 

15 

3 


24 
39 
42 


80 
80 


122 
202 


202 


215 



Pumping 53 gallons per minute lowers the water 15 feet. The water is 
pumped by an air lift to a cistern and is forced thence by a steam pump 
to a tank on a steel tower. The water is colorless, tasteless, and odorless. 
According to W. Xew, of the U. S. Surgeon- General's Office, the mineral 



172 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



matter is chiefly sodium sulphate with traces of calcium, magnesium, and 
iron salts. A partial analysis showed 342 parts of total solids and 5.14 
parts of chlorine per million of water. 

About a mile southwest of Fort Hunt, at the residence of Dr. Bliss, is 
a 65-foot drilled well that gets soft but slightly iron-bearing water from a 
Potomac sand or gravel bed. Dug wells in the vicinity get water from 
Columbia loams and sands at depths of from 15 to .25 feet. 

A mile northwest of Fort Hunt, at Eiverside Park near the moutb of 
Little Hunting Creek, on property owned by the Eiverside Brick Co., are 
two 6-inch wells which get water from Potomac beds. They are said to be 
over 100 feet deep. Neither gives a flow, the elevation of the surface being 
about 20 feet. Each affords a fair supply of good, though slightly iron-bear- 
ing water. Near Hunters station, on the Washington, Alexandria & 
Mount Vernon Kailroad, a drilled well gets good water from a bed of white 
Potomac sand at 165 feet. 

At Arcturus station, on the same road, household supplies are obtained 
from dug wells. The deepest of these, about 30 feet, owned by II. C. Pill- 
ing, strikes a bed of sand and mud containing "logs/ 7 and yields water high 
in iron. A gasoline engine pumps the water to a tank. 

At Mount Vernon water for domestic purposes is obtained from an 8- 
inch artesian well 525 feet deep. The well is near the edge of the river, 
the well mouth being about 7 feet above high tide level. Little water was 
found in the basal beds of the Patuxent formation, and the casing was 
pulled back. The present supply, which rises within 6 feet of the surface, 
its level fluctuating with the tide, comes from a sand and gravel bed at 345 
feet. The following log, kept by W. H. K. Shannahan, the driller, was 
furnished by William Archer, of Mount Vernon. 

Record of well at Mount Vernon. 
(Authority. J. H. K. Shannahan, driller.) 



Material 



Blue and red clay 

I . ray clay 

Hard green and blue clay 

Hard green, blue, and brown clay 

Sandy brown clay 

Coarse green water-bearing sand; bad water, lias the odor of 

marsh water, very unpleasant 

Brown and green clay and gray Bandy clay 

Marsh (day 

Very hard and dry brown, green and blue clays 

Light green sandy clay 

Light green sand, water-bearing below 340 feet, source of 

present supply 

( lays 

Sand, little or no water, and that sulphur-bearing 

Bed rock 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


10 


10 


15 


25 


25 


50 


25 


75 


25 


100 


25 


125 


25 


150 


50 


200 


100 


300 


25 


325 


25 


350 


1G5 


515 


10 


525 


525 





PAIKFAX COUNTY. 



173 



The water supply is good. A steam pump lifting 50 gallons per minute 
from the well to a tank on top of the bluff, 175 feet, lowers the water 
about 9 feet. The water is soft and works nicely in a boiler, making little 
scale. 

"Water for washing, flushing, and greenhouse use at Mount Vernon is 
obtained from springs developed by drains along the face of the river bluff. 
The mode of development is described on page 62. 

On Sandy Point a deep well was sunk for H. L. Cranford some years 
ago. The following record has been published : a 

Record of well on Sandy Point, 2 miles southwest of Gunston. 
(Authority, L. W. Shepard, driller.) 



Material 

White and yellow clay 

Very soft blue swamp muck 

Gravel and sand ; water 

Clay 

Gravel and sand ; water 

Clay 

Fine sand and clay; water 

Clay 

Fine sand and clay 

Clay 

Small pebbles and lignite 

Clay ...-. 

Soft rock ; no water . 

Rock 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


20 


20 


80 


100 


15 


115 


15 


130 


10 


140 


10 


150 


60 


210 


20 


230 


25 


255 


9 


264 


6 


270 


15 


285 


5 


290 


270 


560 



The well was dynamited at 265 feet. The water from this point rose 
within 24 feet of the surface or about mean high tide level, and, according 
to the driller, showed tidal fluctuations of 3 feet. 

Near the village of Accotink dug wells vary from 15 to 90 feet in depth, 
according to location, and get water of varying quality from Columbia and 
Potomac sands and pebble beds. The deepest of these dug wells is owned 
by J. P. H. Mason. It is on a hill iy 2 miles north of Accotink and about 
180 feet above tide level. The well, which is 91 feet deep, went through 
these materials. 



aDarton, X. H.. Artesian water prospects of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Bull. 
U. S. Geol. Survey No. 138, p. 178. 



1T-L- UNDEEGBOUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Record of dug well one and one-half miles north of Accotinl-. 
(Authority. J. P. H. Mason, owner.) 



Material 

Very hard red gravel 

-Fullers earth"' 

Light bluish sandy clay 

White clay and sand, a little water 

Light bluish sandr clay: water at 88 feet 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


18 


18 


10 


28 


16 


44 


5 


49 


42 


91 



Another well, 300 yards east of this, found a little water at 56 feet and 
no water below for 60 feet. 

On the inlier of Lafayette formation that extends from near Dunn 
Loring to Peach Grove and Freedom Hill, dug wells are from 20 to -10 
feet deep. The water, which is generally soft, is obtained from the 
Lafayette, and where that formation is thin, from decomposed crystalline 
rock. The deepest well reported in this section, 130 feet, is that of E. H. 
Watts, about 1% miles east of Freedom Hill. It is said to have been drilled 
through clay and gravel and to have struck no rock. The first water was 
struck at 30 feet, but the main supply, about 10 gallons a minute, comes 
from 120 feet. 

Xear Springman dug wells are 20 to 60 feet deep, about 50 feet being 
the most common depth and the one at which most water is obtained. At 
Pohick, Springman post-office, a well at the Methodist Church is 80 feet 
deep, obtaining water at TO feet, but the church is on top of a hill. 

The town of Falls Church had no public water supply system in 1906. 
The inhabitants relied chiefly on dug wells 10 to 35 feet, most of which 
yielded soft water. 

At West Falls Church a 120-foot well, drilled for the Washington, Alex- 
andria k Falls Church electric road, obtained in "granite'' an irony water 
which is not used. 

Particulars regarding dug wells at some villages are given below: 

Del nils of dug wells in Fairfax County. 



Location 



Accotink 

Dunn Loring . . 

New Alexandria 
Lorton Valley . 



Depth 

(Feet) 



Water bed 



Quality of 
water 



25-91 
20-65 
10-20 
20-50 



Sand and clay 



Hard 

.\. I Soft 

Sand and loam Soft 

Sand and gravel ; Soft 



GLOUCESTER COUNTY. 175 

Conclusions. — Good water can be had in the Coastal Plain portion of 
Fairfax County by both dug and drilled wells. At most places the former 
will furnish ample supplies for ordinary purposes, and if properly located 
and cased will be safe. Drilled wells near Potomac River will find good 
supplies in the Patuxent sands. Flowing wells, except at the water edge, 
are not to be expected. 

GLOUCESTER COUNTY. 

General description. — Gloucester County, formed from York County 
in 1861, lies between York River and Pianketank River. 

Topographically the county is one of the most interesting in Tidewater 
Virginia. Part of the surface is included in the Sunderland terrace. The 
highest points in this terrace, about 125 feet, are in the northwest corner 
of the county; the lowest points have an elevation of 100 feet. The Talbot 
terrace covers most of a triangular area between Severn River, Mobjack 
Bay, York River, and a line from Gloucester Point past Hayes' Store and 
Roanes to Pianketank River ; this line follows a sharply defined scarp, the 
most marked and unmistakable terrace scarp in the Virginia Coastal Plain. 
From the foot of this scarp at an elevation of about 25 feet the Talbot 
terrace slopes very gently eastward to sea level, fading away in strips of 
salt marsh and wet ground. 

Geology. — The Columbia formations are prevailingly loamy at top and 
sandy below; along York River large ice-borne boulders are found in the 
lower formations. Beneath the Columbia are the sandy clays, sands, and 
marl beds of the Yorktown and St. Mary's formations of the Chesapeake 
group. The marl beds weather light- or bright-colored, but are dark 
greenish or bluish beloAV water level. The total thickness of the Yorktown 
formation may be 100 feet. The thickness of the other Chesapeake forma- 
tions under cover, the St. Mary's, Choptank, and Calvert, is not determin- 
able from the well records available, but the base of the Chesapeake lies 
about 200 feet below sea level at the western corner of the county, and 300 
feet deeper on the shore of Mobjack Bay. Below the Chesapeake lies 
150 to 200 feet of Pamunkey greensands, the more glauconitic and porous 
making the "black sand" of well drillers, while below these are the Upper 
Cretaceous formations. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — Both the surflcial deposits and the deep 
sands, except at the east end of the county, contain abundant supplies of 



o-The writer believes that the terrace that occupies the greater part of the area 
mentioned is to be correlated with the Pamlico terrace of North Carolina. 



176 UNDERGROUND WATBB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

water. The quality varies greatly; probably no county in Tidewater Vir- 
ginia can show more variety. On high ground the shallow water is soft 
and low in iron, except in Chesapeake marl beds. Xear Mobjack Bay and 
at some points along York River the shallow water is of indifferent quality, 
very hard, high in iron or brackish; at some places it is excellent. The 
artesian waters show as great variation. At the west end of the county 
they are soft, clear, and fresh ; at the east end they are barely potable, con- 
taining salt, sulphate and bicarbonate of soda, and at some wells iron. 
They are as a rule sulphur-bearing. 

Artesian waters under moderate cover, 50 to 100 feet, are found in the 
eastern end of the county. They have low heads, 2 to 5 feet above mean 
high tide, and lie in irregular and discontinuous sand and shell beds in the 
Yorktown formation. The waters as a rule are clear and bright, but more 
or less limy, and in places very hard and iron-bearing. The deeper sands 
of the Chesapeake group give higher heads, up to 35 feet, and at some 
places larger flows. Very soft waters, resembling those of the basal Chesa- 
peake beds, are found in the Pamunkey under the western part of the 
county, but to the east the Pamunkey sands, like the Chesapeake, as sug- 
gested by Darton/ 7 probably become too fine to transmit water readily. The 
flows decrease in volume and cease, no flow being known from the 
Pamunkey east of Gloucester Point. Little is known of the Upper 
Cretaceous formations, but in the eastern portion of the county deep wells 
get waters presumably from these formations, that vary in character from 
the soft, alkaline, slightly sulphur-bearing flow at Gloucester Point to the 
highly mineralized, saline, ferruginous waters found near Severn "River. 
The Potomac beds have not been tapped within the county west of Sclden. 
They undoubtedly contain potable water in abundance as far cast as 
( llaybank. 

Springs. — Springs are abundant. Most of them flow from Columbia 
sands; some from Chesapeake marl beds. Yields are generally small. 
averaging at such springs as are in any way improved. 5 to 10 gallons per 
minute; flows as large as 20 gallons per minute are rare. A considerable 
number are still used for household supply. No spring yields water for 
shipmenl in commercial quantities, and none is a health or pleasure resort. 
A few that have attracted notice by reason of size, location, or quality of 
watt t are owned by Dr. C. II. Bradford, near Dutton ; F. E. Du Val, near 
Cash. ;i large marl spring: Thos. Dixon, Jr., 2 miles west of Dixondale, a 
bold (low of Bofl wntcr known ;is the Cow Spring: ('. J. Roane, near Woods 



oDarton, \. II.. Artesian water prospect^ of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Bull. 
S. Geol. Survey. No. 138. 



GLOUCESTER COUNTY. 



177 



Cross Boads, irony water; W. E. Stubbs, near Pinetta, hard, iron-bearing 
water; and G. P. Brown, near Wan. 

At Gloucester Point a spring of soft water rises through surface sand 
from shell-rock in the Yorktown formation. The water is much used by 
fishermen for boat supply, as it is said to keep well. The flow is about l 1 ^ 
gallons per minute. 

Wells. — Dug wells are practically the sole source of supply on ground 
over 40 feet above tide level. On lower ground are also dug and driven 
wells, the latter being particularly numerous toward the east end of the 
county. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Gloucester are some 15 dug wells from 25 to 40 feet, most of which 
are lined with brick. There are no springs close to the Courthouse, which 
is on a ridge, but there are plenty with perennial flow along neighboring 
creeks. Owing to good drainage, the thick cover of loam, and the depth to 
water table, dug wells at Gloucester are not likely to be polluted if ordinary 
precautions are taken to prevent the ingress of surface water. 

Xear Achilles a number of deep driven wells that do not flow yield 
water of varying quality. One owned by B. A. Eowe gives water that is 
reported to work well in a saw-mill boiler. The water may come from beds 
of Chesapeake age. 

The wells along York Eiver from Puropotank Creek to Gloucester Point 
tap the Chesapeake, Pamunkey, and Upper Cretaceous sands. In general 
the wells flow soft, alkaline water suitable for all household purposes. The 
height to which water rises varies ; the Chesapeake sands give heads of from 
10 to 30 feet, but the Pamunkey gives reported heads of 35 feet at Cappa- 
hosic and of 25 feet at Timberneck Creek. The flow from the Upper 
Cretaceous sand, at Gloucester Point, has a head of but 10 feet. 

A well 3 miles southwest of Signpine, on a tidal inlet, found salt water 
at 13 feet, brackish water at 33 feet, and good artesian water at 196 feet, 
as shown by the following log: 

Record of icell of R. C. Coleman, 3 miles southwest of Signpine. 
(Authority, R. O. Coleman, owner.) 



Material 


Thickness 

(Feet) 


Depth 

(Feet) 


Yellow sand, salt water at 13 feet. . . . 

Lighter colored sand, white at base : 

feet 


brackish water at 33 


13 

20 
155 

9y 2 

¥2 

1 


13 
33 


Blue marl or ''marsh mud" 

Quicksand 


188 
208 y 2 


Hard shell-rock 


210 


Sand ; main flow 


211 


Elevation of surface 3% feet. 





13 



178 CTNDERGEOUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

At Allmondsville several wells have been sunk for oyster houses and 
boiler supply. The reported depths are about 300 feet, the flow coming 
from Chesapeake sands. The alkaline water has a slight sulphur odor; 
it neither pits nor scales a boiler, but has a tendency to foam. A field 
analysis of the water from one well is given in table 8. 

On Jones Creek, B. B. Weaver has a 336-foot well that flows 5 gallons 
at 5 feet above mean high tide. The water comes from medium fine quartz 
sand containing much dark green glauconite. The owner dammed a small 
run and put in a water wheel which he belted to a "bulldozer" pump that 
forces the water to a tank on a tower near the house ; the house is 25 feet 
above the spring, and the total lift to the tank about 50 feet. Table 8 
contains a field assay of a sample of the water. 

The well at Cappahosic, 415 feet deep, found no flow in the Chesapeake 
sands, and the Pamunkey flow is of moderate volume. The owner has 
harnessed the well to a small ram, a flow of 3 gallons per minute, with a 
drop to the ram of 6 feet, being sufficient to lift all water needed for 
domestic use to a tank in the house 40 feet above the river. The overflow 
from the ram is piped to neighbors' houses, one being 300 yards distant. 

The decrease of yield in the Chesapeake and Pamunkey sands near the 
mouth of York Eiver is shoAvn by a well sunk for James Brown by a driller 
familiar with local conditions. This well, on Carter Creek, about half a 
mile from the mouth, found water from 60 to 80 feet in coarse gravel, and 
no more till a very weak flow at 535 feet; sinking to 610 feet brought no 
iin icase in flow and the well was abandoned. 

Near Timberneck Creek are artesian wells which get water from the 
shell beds in the Yorktown formation. One of these, 65 feet deep, at the 
residence of Charles Catlett, is used for household supply; two other wells 
sunk io the Pamunkey gave flows of sulphur-bearing water. The flow from 
the shallow well has a head of I (Vet and shows large tidal fluctuations. 
The water is clear but hard. 

On the beach at Gloucester Point is a well 690 feet deep which gets 
water from the Matawan : no flows were found, according to the driller, in 
the Pamunkey or Chesapeake beds, and the Matawan flow is small (2 
gallons), and of low head. 10 feet. The well was sunk for public use. The 
water has a Blighl sulphur odor, is alkaline, and contains more salt, sulphate 
of soda, and lime (hail the wells up the river. Tn a boiler it foamed badly. 
A field analysis is given in table 10. 



GLOUCESTER COUNTY, 



179 



The following record is reported from one of the flowing wells on 
Pianketank Eiver. The water is probably from the base of the Chesapeake 
group. 

Record of well of R. J. Bristow, 3 miles east of New Upton, on 

Pianketank River. 



Material 



Sand, water at 8 feet. 

Clay 

Sand 



Blue sand marl ; water at 42 to 46 feet 

Sand, very small flow of water 

Marl 

Soft rock; flow of water, about % gal. per minute, at 415 feet 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


15 


15 


15 


30 


4 


34 


201 


235 


2 


237 


148 


385 


30 


415 



Near Severn Eiver are several deep wells notable for their highly 
mineralized waters. All the flows contain considerable salt in addition to 
sodium carbonate or bicarbonate, and some of the flows are decidedly iron- 
bearing. The yields vary decidedly, but as a rule are scanty. 

At Eagle Point, the country seat of the late Joseph Bryan, several 
attempts were made to get a sufficient flow of potable water. The most 
important attempt was a 6-inch well 1,004 feet deep. It penetrated sev- 
eral water-bearing beds but found no water that would overflow, though 
the elevation of the surface is but 5 feet above tide. Another well, 900 
feet deep, yields a scanty flow of clear, saline, alkaline water. (See table 
11 for field assay.) A well 100 feet deep gets a flow of decidedly hard 
water from a shell bed in the Yorktown formation. Cistern water is used 
for most purposes. Nearby at the residence of A. W. Withers is a 6-inch 
well 605 feet deep, that taps Upper Cretaceous beds. It flowed, at an ele- 
vation of 6 feet above tide, 69 gallons per minute of salty, ferruginous, 
bicarbonated water that readily corrodes steel pipe. The water is too salty 
to be palatable. (See table 10.) 

At Severn a well 610 feet deep found water at the base of the 
Pamunkey. The owner gave the following record from memory : 



180 UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOUR< ES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Record of 610-foot well of J. N. Shackelford, near Severn. 

Gloucester County. 



Material 



1 

7 

8 

18 

24 

70 

425 



Clay 

White sand 

Yellow and reddish sand : water 

Blue shell marl, small shells 

Dark gray sand, water-bearing; "water contained lime but 

washed well" 

Dark marl and sand mixed 

Light bluish marl containing a few shells, and mud 

Fine black sand "almost as dark as gunpowder" with one 

white grain in 50 black; water-bearing but water did not 

rise to surface 

Soft dark or greenish mud, very few or no shells 

Black sand in hard layers, water-bearing, flow 1 gallon in 

5 minutes at 5 feet elevation above tide 

Below the rock was clean gravel "like fine hail" pebbles size 

of wheat grains, clear or occasionally bluish; this gravel 

contained water but the gravel and sand choked the pipe 

and it was pulled back to 575 feet 

The water is clear, but highh* mineralized, containing considerable salt. 
It has been drunk as a medicinal water. (See table 10.) 

Some particulars of dug wells, reported by postmasters, at various points 
in the county are shown below in tabular form : 

Details of dug wells in Gloucester County. 




Depth 
(Feet) 



440 
575 

(510 



Location 



Belroi 

( lash 

Dutton 

James Store 

New I 'ploii 

Ordinary 

Pinetta 

Roanes 

Signpine 

Woods Cross Roads 

W'hii marsh 

Wicomico 



Depth 
(Feet ) 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


10-20 


Sand 


Hard and soft 


30-45 


Sand and marl 


Hard 


1 8-50 


Sand 


Soft 


25-50 


Sand 


Soft 


35-40 


Sand and marl 


Soft and hard 


10-35 


Sand 


Hard and soft 


25-40 
20-30 






Sand and marl 


Hard 


40 
30-5(1 


Sand and marl 
Sand and marl 




Soft and hard 


18-60 


Sand 


Soft 


10-40 


Sand and gravel 





Conclusions. Artesian water can be had under the whole of Gloucester 
County, hut the wells already dug demonstrate that liberal Hows of good 
quality ran nol be expected east of Gloucester Point. Excellent water can 
be had in the western part of the county under heads of 30 to 35 feet above 



GREENESVILLE COUNTY. 181 

tide. At Gloucester Courthouse soft alkaline water can be had by a well 
less than 500 feet deep, but a deep well pump must be used as the water 
will probably not rise to within 40 feet of the surface. 

GEEEtfESVILLE COUNTY. 

General description. — Greenesville County includes the extreme south- 
west corner of the Virginia Coastal Plain, south of Meherrin River, and 
its southern boundary is the North Carolina-Virginia state line. The 
Coastal Plain portion of the county lies east of the Atlantic Coast Line 
Railway, and has an area of about 70 square miles. 

The surface shows considerable diversity of relief but much of it is 
low, and is included . within the valleys of Meherrin River, Fontaines 
Creek, and tributary swamps. The general slope is east. Along Meherrin 
River the lower Columbia terraces are extensive. The maximum eleva- 
tions of the Coastal Plain area in this county have not been determined, 
but the Sunderland terrace is a less important feature of the topography 
than in counties to the north. Elevations above sea level range from 200 
feet, west of Jarratt, to 20 feet along Meherrin River. 

Geology. — Granite outcrops in the bed of Meherrin River near Emporia, 
and lies less than 50 feet below the surface in the town. Near the river 
the granite is overlain by Columbia gravels, sands, and loams, which also 
mantle the surface in the vicinity of the town and along the railroad to 
the south. 

Potomac sands overlie the granite a short distance east of Emporia, 
but are not exposed along Meherrin River nor anywhere within the county. 
There is nothing to indicate the presence of Upper Cretaceous or of 
Pamunkey (Eocene) beds. Chesapeake marls are exposed in places by 
pits from which the marl was dug. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The Columbia and the underlying Chesa- 
peake or Potomac sands carry waters that show considerable variation in 
quality. Sufficient water for household needs can be had anywhere in the 
Coastal Plain portion of the county at small cost. For larger supplies 
groups of driven or bored wells have been put down in the Columbia sands, 
and at least one well has been drilled deep into granite. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Emporia water for boiler supply has been obtained from dug, bored 
or driven wells. The Emporia Manufacturing Co., in 1905, had 6 bored 



182 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

wells, 24 feet apart, with 4%-inch casing, and a 2-inch suction pipe having 
a slotted brass strainer 2 feet long inside the casing; the yield was about 
60 gallons per minute of hard water. Soft water was found at 22 feet. 
The company had also a series of 20 bored wells 16 feet apart, 2 inches in 
diameter, with 18-inch screens, and only about 22 feet deep. The water 
normally stood within about 10 feet of surface and the combined yield to 
pump was 70 gallons per minute. Granite is found at 32 feet. 

The town of Emporia has a 600-foot drilled well, described on page 
!».'! : it furnished unsatisfactory water from crevices at several depths. 

HANOVER COUNTY. 

General description. — Hanover County, formed in 1720 from New 
Kent County, lies between Chickahominy and Pamunkey rivers, but only 
that part east of the Eichmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad is 
within the Coastal Plain province. This part, probably 100 square miles 
in extent, contains several important settlements, the largest being 
Ashland. 

The topography has the varied aspect common to other counties along 
the "fall line." The Lafayette and older Columbia terraces have been 
deeply trenched by tributaries of Chickahominy and Pamunkey rivers; 
maximum elevations are 200 to 225 feet near Ashland, Merryoaks, and 
Ashcake, while the swamp along Chickahominy River is 50 to 80 feet, and 
the flood plain or first bottom along Pamunkey River, is 10 to 30 feet 
above sea level. The Sunderland plain east of Ashland may be 160 to 180 
feet high. The Wicomico plain lies along Pamunkey River from near 
Hanover to Doswell. At the latter place it forms the "second bottom"' at 
an elevation of 60 to 80 feet above tide. A lower plain is well developed 
near New Castle bridge, where its surface is 25 to 40 feet above sea level. 
The Wicomico is not well shown in the Chickahominy valley. 

Geology. — Granite underlies the Columbia deposits south of Ashland, 
and the Triassic sandstones outcrop north of Ashland, near North Anna 
River. Above this basement to the east are Potomac, Pamunkey, and 
CheBapeake deposits. The Potomac at Belamar is represented by a few feet 
of dark bluish shale, and on the Xorth Anna near Doswell by arkosic sands 
and sandstones of the Patuxenl formation. The exposures of Eocene 
deposits along Pamunkey River from Wyckham to Piping Tree Ferry 
visited by Conrad and by Rogers over 70 years ago, and have been 



HANOVER COUNTY. 183 

examined by many geologists since. The beds consist of dark green sands 
containing fossil shells which in places form shell-rock. Most of the 
material exposed is part of the Aquia formation. ISTo Pamnnkey (Eocene) 
beds are exposed in the Chickahominy valley. The Chesapeake (Miocene) 
beds, chiefly of the Calvert formation, overlap the Pamunkey. They com- 
prise dark greenish sandy clays, which in places contain many fossil shells 
and in places are full of diatoms. The thickness of the Chesapeake beds 
varies from a feather edge to possibly 100 feet on the east side of the 
county. 

The Lafayette and Sunderland formations overlap the granite and the 
Cretaceous, Eocene or Miocene beds to the west, the Lafayette extending 
an unknown distance westward. The Sunderland contains numerous large 
boulders of crystalline rocks, evidently ice-borne, and near Wyckham its 
scarp is as thickly strewn with boulders as a New England hill pasture. 
On the Wicomico plain along Pamunkey Eiver these sub-angular boulders 
of gneiss and schist are dug out in tilling fields and used for well-casing, 
foundation-stone, flagging, etc. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and character. — Water-bearing beds occur in the Potomac, 
Pamunkey, Chesapeake, and Columbia deposits. The deeper Potomac and 
Pamunkey waters; as indicated by wells in King William County, are 
probably of good quality. The water from the Columbia sands is as a 
rule soft. 

Springs. — Springs of the usual Coastal Plain type are numerous, but 
comparatively few are used for household supply and from none is water 
sold regularly. The quality of the spring waters varies from hard or iron- 
bearing to very pure and soft. 

One spring of note is near the residence of T. A. Taliaferro about 1% 
miles southeast of Pole Green. This spring rises as a bold flow from a bed 
of white sand (Sunderland) near a little run tributary to Beaver Dam 
Creek. The spring is said to rise from a depth of at least 20 feet, as a pole 
can be forced down into the sand to that depth. The flow, about 15 gallons 
per minute, is clear, soft, and light. The owner furnished an analysis that 
has been recomputed to express results in the form used by the Federal 
Survey. 



184 [JNDEBGBOUND WATEB RESOUBCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

Analysis of water from spring of T. A. Taliaferro, southeast of Pole Green, 

Hanover County. 
(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Total mineral solids 19 . 

Silica (SiO.,) 6.2 

Iron (Fe) 0.08 

Aluminum ( Al ) 0.11 

Manganese ( Mn ) . 02 

Calcium ( Ca ) 0.7 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 0.3 

Sodium (Na) 2.2 

Potassium ( K ) 0.8 

Lithium ( Li ) 0.01 

Arsenic ( As ) trace 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) 2.7 

Sulphate radicle ( SOJ 2.3 

Phosphate radicle ( P0 4 ) . 03 

Chlorine (CI) 3.1 

Iodine ( I ) trace 

Free carbon dioxide gas 04 c. c. per liter. 

Xo improvements had been made at this spring when it was inspected. 
nor was the water being sold. 

Other springs of more or less note in the Coastal Plain section of 
Hanover County arc those of H. Carter Eidd, of Beaver Dam; of M. C. 
and C. II. Tate, at Ruel, which give iron-bearing water; and a small 
spring o!' E. G. Gwathmey) near Tavlorsville, said to yield sulphur water. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

Dug wells at Hanover average 20 to 30 feet deep, though one was dug 
60 feet. The water from most of the wells is called "medium soft." The 
deeper wells go through the Columbia gravels and sands into the 
Chesapeake beds, and it' they strike shell marl the water becomes hard. 
The 60-fool well found a little hard water at 20 feet on top of a dark, 
greenish sandy clay of the Chesapeake group, but none for 40 feet below. 

At Ashland most of the water used is obtained from dug wells; enough 
for a family of ordinary size can be obtained by digging 18 or '20 feet. 
Because of the Level surface of the ground and the shallow depth of the 
water table there i> danger of pollution ; hence some people use only cistern 
water for drinking. At Randolph-Macon College cisterns of large size, 
kept securely locked, arc tilled during late fall, winter and early spring; 
the supply being accumulated after leaves have fallen and migratory birds 
have left the region. 



HAXOVER COUNTY, 



185 



Where there is no danger of pollution from nearby cesspools or wells 
with unsanitary surroundings, good water from dug wells is had by dig- 
ging to below water level, dumping in several feet of clear, coarse gravel, 
and using tile curbing with tightly cemented joints, the top length project- 
ing a foot or so above surface. 

Several attempts to get water by drilling have been made at Ashland. 
One well at Kandolph-Macon College, sunk about 100 feet, furnished satis- 
factory supplies for about ten } r ears, and then was abandoned because an 
influx of sand choked the pump. A deep well intended to furnish a supply 
for the college and the town is on the grounds of the Henry Clay Inn. 
This well, 365 feet deep, went through the Lafayette and obtained its 
supply from the sandstones of the Xewark. The following record is that 
furnished by the driller : 

Record of deep ivell of Ashland Water and Light Co.. at Henry Clay Inn, 

Ashland. 
(Authority, Sydnor Pump and Well Co.. drillers.) 



Material 


Thickness 

(Feet) 


Depth 

(Feet) 


Earth 


64 

77 
26 

58 


64 


Rock 


181 


Sandstone 


307 


Soft brown shale 


365 


Slate 


365 







The following record of a well near Ashland is from Darton's bulletin.** 
Record of well near Ashland. 



Material 



Clay and soil 

Gravel and sand 

Blue clay with beds of fine sand 

Stratum of sandstone 

Disintegrated stone, with water in its upper portion 
Granite 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


20 


20 


22 


42 


37 


79 


6 


85 


35 


120 


20 


140 



In 1910, a public supply system, taking water from two deep wells, was 
installed. 

On the lower terrace near Pamunkey Eiver many shallow wells 10 to 
15 feet deep get water enough for family use, but are frequently rilled by 



«Darton, N. H., Op. cit. p. 179. 



186 ONDEBGBOUNT WATER EESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

surface water during rains, and are not considered wholly safe. A deep 
well sunk for locomotive supply by the Richmond, Fredericksburg & 
Potomac Railroad, near Doswell, elevation 55 feet, obtained, from the 
Newark rocks at a depth of about 300 feet, hard water, which rose to within 
3 feet of the surface. The supply was either insufficient or unsatisfactory, 
for the well was abandoned by the railroad company and later covered in 
widening the grade. 

About Wyckham, wells on the Sunderland plain get soft water at 
depths of 30 feet or less. Xear Wyckham station on the scarp above the 
Wicomico plain an attempt to get water by digging into the Chesapeake 
marls and clays was unsuccessful. The following section was furnished 
by W. AT. Dyson, superintendent of Hickory Hill farm. 

Record of 75-foot well at Hickory Hill. Wyckham. 
(Authority, W. W. Dyson.) 



Material 



Loam and pebbles 

Red clay 

White "'fuller's earth"' 

White and purplish "fuller's earth" with iron stains 

Dark bluish black "fullers earth" 

Blue gravel and sand, pebbles large as hens' eg<rs 

Blue sand 

Shell marl, very hard, full of scallop and clam shells and 

sharks teeth 

White -and. water-hearing 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


5 


5 


4 


9 


10 


19 


10 


29 


8 


37 


3 


40 


2 


42 


11 


53 


1 


54 



The water rose to the top of the marl. It tasted strongly of iron, and 
was so hard that it could not be used for washing, consequently the well 
was filled. 

Shallow well conditions at a number of points in the Coastal Plain 
><•<•! ion of the county are given in the following table: 

Details of dug wells in Coastal Plain portion of 1 1 (mover Count}/. 



Belamar 
Doswell .. 
Beaverdam 
Pole ( rreen 
Rue! 



Local ion 



Depth 


\\ 


ater bed 




Quality of 


(Feet) 










water 


12-100 


Sand and 


roc 


k 


Soft and hard 


15-35 




Sand 






Soft 


15-30 




Sand 






Soft 


30 




Sand 






Soft 


30 




Sand 






Soft 



HENRICO COUNTY. 187 

Conclusions. — There is little chance in Hanover County for artesian 
water that will rise above tide level, but in the eastern part of the county 
water of good quality and softer than that obtained by dug wells can be 
had by drilling. The Newark rocks are uncertain water-bearers, and though 
water can probably be had from them the quality and yield can not be pre- 
dicted; both may be good, as at Ashland, or poor, as at Doswell. 

HENEICO COUNTY. 

General description. — Henrico County, formed in 1643 as one of the 
original shires of Virginia, lies between James and Chickahominy rivers, 
part of the county being in the Coastal Plain and part in the Piedmont 
Province. Eichmond, the capital of Virginia, a prosperous manufacturing 
city, had a population of 127,628 in 1910. The area of the Coastal Plain 
portion is about 350 square miles. Outside the city limits are a number 
of suburbs, chiefly residential, such as Barton Heights, Brookland, Ginter 
Park, and Highland Springs. The population of the county, exclusive of 
Eichmond, was 23,437 in 1910. 

Away from the railroads and the immediate vicinity of Eichmond the 
county contains few villages of importance. Along the James Eiver are 
several famous estates, and one of the largest single farms in the State, 
measured by land under cultivation, is about 15 miles below Eichmond. 

As Henrico County lies partly in the Coastal Plain and partly in the 
Piedmont Plateau the topography is characterized by the gently undu- 
lating remnants of the high Lafayette or Sunderland plains on the inter- 
stream areas, with precipitous scarps along the gorge of James Eiver, the 
gorge at Eichmond being nearly 250 feet deep. The Lafayette plain has an 
elevation of 200 to 225 feet. The lower terraces are not well developed 
near Eichmond, but can be traced along the James Eiver valley below. 

The Coastal Plain area contains few creeks or runs more than a few 
miles long. Those emptying into the James such as Shockoe, Gillies, and 
Almond creeks, have cut sharp valleys which are marked features of the 
topography. Along Chickahominy Eiver is a cypress swamp, lying 50 to 
over 100 feet above tide level and in places over a mile wide. 

Geology. — The gray granite-gneiss over which James Eiver flows at 
Eichmond is exposed at higher elevations in railroad cuts west of the "fall- 
line," as at Glen Allen. It dips eastward from the "fall-line" about 40 
feet to the mile, and above it lie Potomac, Pamunkey, and Chesapeake 
beds, all of which outcrop in the city limits of Eichmond. The Patuxent 
formation, with arkosic. incoherent or indurated sands full of pebbles, 



188 UXDKRGROUXD WATEB RESOUBCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

cobbles, and clay balls, may be seen along Gillies and Almond creeks. The 
Pamimkey greensands and the Chesapeake diatomaceons clays are exposed 
at the famous outcrop on the west bank of Shockoe Creek, just below the 
plant of the American Locomotive Works, where, in a bluff about 40 feet 
high, dark argillaceous Pamimkey greensands of the Xanjemoy formation 
grade into dark diatomaceous clayey Chesapeake sands of the Calvert for- 
mation. Higher up the run are many outcrops of the Calvert formation 
full of shells. North of the city, near the State Fair grounds, dark fossil- 
iferous Chesapeake marls and clays rest directly on the granite. Along 
James Kiver, south of Richmond, notably at Dutch Gap, many outcrops 
of Potomac sands and standstone can be seen. In Chickahominy valley 
the dark, sandy clays of the Chesapeake beds are exposed along the creeks 
and runs. From feather edges on the west, the Potomac, Pamimkey, and 
Chesapeake beds thicken rapidly down the dip, and at the eastern edge of 
the county the Potomac may be 300 feet thick, and the Pamimkey and 
Chesapeake, each 100 feet. 

UKTDERGBOU XI) WAT i:RS. 

Distribution and character.— The occurrence of water in the granite 
has been described on pages 83-9?. The Potomac beds are prevailingly 
coarse-textured, and contain much water that is available to wells. The 
Chesapeake sandy clays are dense and the Calvert formation is probably a 
poor water-bearer within the county limits. The loams and sands of the 
Columbia contain large supplies of ground water, the depth of the water 
table below surface depending on the topography. The shallow waters are 
for the most part soft. Little is known of the quality of the water to be 
had by deep wells sunk to the Potomac beds. 

Springs. — Springs abound. Most are small seeps from beds of sand 
bin a few are of considerable size. One of the largest in the county, known 
as the Tucker or Bonanza spring, is Dear Bighland Spring- on land owned 
by E, S. Reed. It is situated in a hollow near a small run that flows into 
Chickahominy River. The water rises from sands and gravel, evidently 
slope wash, and the geologic relations of the spring arc not evident. The 
water probably comes from near the contact between the Chesapeake and 
the overlying Columbia -amis. The flow, about 28 gallons per minute, is 
said not to vary during the year. The water is soft, clear, tasteless, and 
odorless, lias been used for drinking purposes by several families at High- 
land Springs, and lias been shipped to Richmond. 



HEXRICO COUNTY. 139 

Situated a few miles west of Highland Springs, in the Sunderland 
scarp facing James River, is Como Lithia Spring, the water of which is 
sold for medicinal and table use. The spring issues from sand beds at the 
base of the Sunderland formation. The water is clear and sparkling, 
tasteless and odorless, and contains free carbon dioxide which makes it 
agreeably light. The following analysis, recalculated to express results in 
standard form, was furnished by the proprietor of the spring, I. M. Hawks. 

Analysis of Como Lithia water. 
(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 34 . 

Organic matter slight trace 

Silica (Si0 2 ) 5.4 

Iron (Fe) 0.1 

Aluminum ( Al) . 53 

Calcium (Ca) 0.86 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 1.1 

Sodium (Na) 4.7 

Potassium ( K ) 2.1 

Lithium (Li) 0.07 

Iodine (I) 0.39 

Bromine (Br) trace 

Arsenic ( As ) trace 

Bicarbonate radicle ( HC0 3 ) 7.9 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 0.41 

Chlorine (Cl)_ 10. 

Free carbon dioxide gas, 31 c. c. per liter. 

The spring is in a park with no buildings near, and pollution by con- 
taminated surface waters is improbable. The only improvements at the 
spring, when inspected, were a bricked pool from which the water was 
pumped, and a rustic spring house. 

Other springs of more or less note in Henrico County are those of 
E. G. Hopkins, at Glen Allen ; of William Dean, on the edge of a slope 
from the Sunderland plain, 2 miles northeast from Fair Oaks; of A. A. 
Carlough, half a mile south of Elko; of J. W. Francis, 3^2 miles south of 
Chickahominy ; of J. T. Brown, on the Sims place, 3 miles south of Laurel 
station; and a spring on the Crenshaw tract, iy 2 miles east of Laurel. 
The spring that supplies Barton Heights is mentioned on page 190. 

W<ells. — While the larger proportion of the dug wells in the rural parts 
of Henrico County are curbed with wood, there are many, especially near 
Richmond, that are bricked. Most of the bricked wells are covered and 
have pumps. There are some driven wells, but outside of Eichmond there 
are few drilled wells. 



190 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

The city of Richmond owns waterworks which distribute James River 
water. In or near Richmond a number of deep wells have been sunk by 
hotels and industrial concerns. These wells get water from fissures and 
joints in the granite, and are of much interest because of the wide varia- 
tion in yield and quality of water. They are discussed in detail under the 
heading "Wells in crystalline rocks/'" on page 83. 

A dug well 12 feet in diameter and 112 feet deep at Benjamin Davis' 
brickyard in the north part of the city is situated just on the edge of the 
Sunderland plain above Bacon Quarter Branch. It went through 
Columbia cobble beds and loams and the Chesapeake sandy clays to decom- 
posed granite, but struck nothing that could be identified as Potomac 
material, and yields little water. 

In the Brookland district, which includes residential and manufactur- 
ings sections, northwest and north of the city, and had a total population 
of 10,068 in 1910, water is obtained chiefly from dug wells 10 to 40 feet 
deep, though there are many drilled wells and some cisterns. 

Within a mile of Highland Springs there are over 100 dug wells, which 
obtain supplies of soft water from sand beds, and range in depth, from 20 
to 27 feet with an average of about 32 feet. 

In Glen Allen dug wells are 20 to 35 feet deep, and most of them strike 
granite at about 20 feet. The Old Dominion Excelsior Co. has two wells 
8 feet square and 22 feet deep that go to the granite, and are connected by a 
crosscut at the bottom. 

Barton Heights, a suburb of Richmond, with a population of 1.388 in 
1910, has a public supply from the Mitchell Spring and an adjacent dug 
well 15 feet in diameter and 44 feet deep, in the scarp back of the spring. 
The yield reported is about 100 gallons per minute. Some characteristics 
of the water, which is considered good, are shown by the following sanitary 
analysis : 

Sanitary analysis of water from Mitchell Spring. 
(E. C. Levy, analyst.) 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Total solids 106. 

Los- on ignition 42. 

Alkalinitj 0.0 

Chlorine (CI) 10.5 

Xitrntc- i\(» 0.445 

Nitrites (NO.) 0.0 

Iron (Fe) 0.03 

Total hardness 32.5 



HENEICO COUNTY. 191 

To supplement the supply from this well and spring, the town, in 
1909, had a deep well sunk on the east side of the valley of Bacon Quarter 
Branch. This well, 759 feet deep, yields to a pump 40 gallons a minute 
of excellent water. 

The drilled wells at Barton Heights go through Columbia, and Chesa- 
peake beds, getting water from crevices in the granite-gneiss. Most of the 
drilled wells are from 50 to 150 feet deep, though a few are much deeper. 

At Fort Lee, dug wells 15 to 25 feet deep go through red clay into blue 
marl and then into water-bearing sand. The cost of digging such wells 
has been $6 or $7. Some of the wells seen were liable to pollution because 
of insufficient protection at the top. 

At Chestnut Hill and Highland Park nearly all householders have dug 
wells 20 to 40 feet deep, averaging about 30 feet at Highland Park. The 
water generally is soft. 

At G-inter Park most houses are supplied from the deep well described 
on page 92. Dug wells are 20 to 35 feet deep. One at the Jefferson 
Laundry yielded water that was too hard for laundry use. Analyses of 
water from these wells are given in tables 4 and 7. 

No account of deep wells in Henrico County would be complete with- 
out mention of the boring at Curie's Neck, the 7,000-acre farm of C. H. 
Senff. This well near James Eiver where the Talbot terrace plain has a 
maximum elevation of about 30 feet, went through Columbia, Chesapeake, 
Pamunkey, and Potomac deposits, striking granite at 310 feet. According 
to Mr. Bedell, superintendent at Curie's Neck, a little sulphur-bearing water 
was found at 125 and 250 feet, and drilling was continued to 725 feet. In 
the granite water was struck at various depths, better in quality but less in 
volume than that above, and at 710 feet the well was temporarily 
abandoned. After remaining idle for a year, it was tested and the most 
that could be had was about 10 gallons per minute. As a last resort six or 
seven charges of dynamite, some 45 pounds in all, were exploded at various 
depths in the granite, with complete success. Mr. Bedell said that pumping 
at the rate of 100 gallons per minute continuously for three weeks lowered 
the water level but a few inches. The water, which is piped to several 
houses for domestic use and is drunk by 75 to 100 persons, is soft, clear 
and colorless, without taste or odor. 



192 CTNDEKGKOUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

The depths of dug or driven wells, character of water bed, and quality 
of water at a number of places in the county arc summarized below: 

Details of dug wells in Henrico County. 



Location 


Depth of 

well 

(Feet ) 


Water bed 


Quality of 
Water 


Elko . 


1 5-25 
18-22 
15-60 
20-25 
20-40 
20-50 
About 20 
About 30 


Sand and gravel 
Sand 

Loam and sand 
Sand and gravel 
Rotten granite 

Sand 

Sand 


Soft and hard 


Fair Oaks 


Soft 




Soft 


Highland Park 


Soft 


Highland Springs 


Soft 


School 


Soft 


Seven Pines 


Soft 


Varnna Grove 


Soft 







Conclusions. — As the Lafayette and higher Columbia terraces have a 
thick covering of clay loam it is probable that dug wells, even when houses 
stand closely, will be satisfactory from a sanitary standpoint, provided that 
wells are properly protected, and provided they are not sunk close to cess- 
pools or privies. Drilled wells properly cased are, however, preferable. 
Good water can probably be had by wells drilled to the Potomac beds in 
the eastern part of the count}\ but the prospects for flows, even at an ele- 
vation of less than 10 feet above tide level, are poor. 



ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY. 

General description. — Isle of Wight County, formed in 1634 as one of 
the original shires of Virginia, lies south of James River and east of Black- 
water River. Smithfield, with a population of 1,278 in 1910, is the only 
incorporated town. 

The general slope of the surface is southeast. It varies from flat to 
gently undulating, though the Columbia terrace plains are somewhat sharply 
cut along the north and east by creeks flowing to James and Nansemond 
rivers, of which Pagan Creek is the most important. The creeks in the 
westerr and southern parts of the countr drain to Blackwater River, have 
open valleys, and flow sluggishly through cypress swamps. The divide 
between the James River and Blackwater Piver drainage runs through the 
center of the county. Along James River and Pagan Creek the descent 
from the Wicomico plain to tide level is generally abrupt, there being bluffs 
along the James 50 to 80 feet high. The slope southwestward from the 
Blackwater-James divide i- gentle, Moonlight having an elevation of 85 
led and the Blackwater bottoms opposite Franklin 30 feet. 



ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY. 193 

Noteworthy features of the topography in the northwest corner of the 
county, commented on by Eogers, a are the wide, poorly drained tracts 
known as pocosons. 

Geology. — The mantle of Columbia loams and sands hides the older 
beds except along the river and creek valleys. The Potomac and Pamunkey 
deposits are deeply buried, and the only outcropping Chesapeake forma- 
tions are the Yorktown and St. Mary's. The sands, clays, and shell marls 
of the former in places constitute the whole thickness of the bluffs along 
James Eiver, and at some localities, for instance near Fort Boykin, are beds 
crowded with marine shells that here and there form hard rock. The thick- 
ness of the Yorktown may be 100 feet; of the St. Mary's about 250 feet. 
The formations are much alike, being differentiated by fossils. The top of 
the Pamunkey is from 200 to 400 feet below tide level. Nothing positive 
is known of the Upper Cretaceous beds nor of the Potomac. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The Potomac, Pamunkey, and Chesapeake 
groups contain artesian water. The coarser sands will yield supplies at 
any point in the county, and along James Eiver will give flows at eleva- 
tions below 25 to 35 feet. Nothing is known of the quality of the Potomac 
and Pamunkey waters, but there is every reason to believe that they are 
potable. The artesian waters in the Chesapeake beds are soft, alkaline, and 
adapted to domestic use. The shallow water varies in quality from soft in 
the Columbia sands to hard in the Chesapeake shell marls. 

Springs. — There are many springs along tributaries of James and 
Blackwater rivers, but few of especial importance. Most springs flow from 
Columbia sands, and a few from the top beds of the Chesapeake. 

Near St. Luke's church, built in 1632 (Benn's Church post-office), is a 
wayside spring of good flow, about 10 gallons per minute, that has been 
used by wayfarers for nearly 300 years. Its clear, fresh, but hard water 
flows from shell marls in the Yorktown formation. 

Wells. — Dug wells with wood-lining are most widely used. In some 
places, particularly in the northern part of the county, curbing of 24-inch 
tile is being substituted for wood. The shallower wells, as a rule, reach 
Columbia sands and loams; the deeper wells penetrate Chesapeake sand or 
marl. There are some driven wells scattered in the county, and there are 
many drilled wells along James Eiver, Everets Creek, and Blackwater Eiver. 



('Rogers. W. B., Geology of the Virginias. 1885. 



14 



194 UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

The drilled wells are nearly all of small diameter, iy 2 or 2 inches. Depths 
range from 40 to over 300 feet. Some have but 20 feet or so of casing; 
others, and especially those drilled recently, are cased to the bottom. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

Flowing wells along James River. — The town of Smithfield is supplied 
with water from a creek 3 miles to the west. In the town are a few dug wells 
which get hard water, and a considerable number of cisterns. A drilled 
well 300 feet deep found a fine flow of soft alkaline water in the basal 
Chesapeake (Calvert) beds that are tapped by some wells a few miles 
farther up the river. 

Along James River, above Smithfield, are several flowing wells about 
300 feet deep. A part of the flow from one of the wells at a hotel near 
Day's Point is bottled and sold by the owner as a table and medicinal water. 
It belongs to the sodic alkaline bicarbonated class, and like waters of this 
class in the tidewater country, contains little lime in proportion to the 
total solids in solution. As a table water it is light and pleasant. The 
mineral content is shown by the following analysis : 

Analysis of Day's Point Artesian IAthia water. 
(Froehling and Robertson, analysts.) 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Total solids 434 . 

Silica (SiOo) 12. 

Iron (Fe) 0.19 

Aluminum ( Al ) . 53 

Manganese .008 

Calcium (Ca) 2.6 

Magnesium OTg) 1.1 

Sodium (Na) 10!) . 

Potassium | K i 6.2 

Manganese ( Mn ) . 008 

Iodine ( I ) . 004 

Lithium (Li) 0.008 

Bromine ( Br ) 0.36 

Arsenic (As) trace 

Carbonate radicle (C0 3 ) 204. 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 11. 

Phosphate radicle (P0 4 ) 0.85 

Chlorine (CI) 25. 

Carbon dioxide (C0 2 ) combined 105. 

Free carbon dioxide (CO a ) 2.0 cu. in. per liter. 

A well near by, owned by J. V. Tower, is said to penetrate the follow- 
ing Buccession of beds : 



ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY 



195 



Record of well of J. P. Tower, 3 miles east of Shoal Bay. 



Material 



Soil 

Yellow sandy clay 

Yellow shell marl 

Blue shell marl 

Reddish or "liver-colored" mud 

Blue marl with sandy beds, rocks at base 

Black sand 

Rock 

Blue marl, water 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


1V 2 


1% 


10% 


12 


18 


30 


140 


170 


4 


174 


106 


280 


4 


284 


3 


287 


16 


303 



These wells are on a bluff 30 feet above James Eiver, hence they yield 
small flows. 

The flowing wells near Everets tap local sands high in the St. Mary's 
formation. The flows are weak, but the water is of good quality — a little 
harder and less alkaline than that from the deeper Chesapeake (Calvert) 
beds along James Eiver. The wells were inexpensive, costing only 10 cents 
per foot for the driller's time, the owner providing the necessary extra 
labor and the pipe. 

Flowing wells along Blackwater River. — On the west side of the county, 
in the bottom lands along Blackwater Eiver, flowing wells have been drilled 
from north of Zuni to the south end of the county below Franklin. The 
wells tap sands lying in the Chesapeake group (St. Mary's formation) 
about 150 feet below tide level. Most of these wells are of small diameter 
(2 inches), and are used for household supply or for watering stock. There 
are several near Zuni. At the plant of the Shaw Lumber Co., at Ivor, 
elevation 60 feet, a 6-inch well supplies water for a number of houses ; be- 
cause of the elevation the water does not rise to the surface and a pump 
is used. For details of other wells, see table 5. 

Conditions at some of the villages depending chiefly on dug wells are 
noted in the following summary, compiled from reports of various persons : 

Details of dug wells in Isle of Wight County. 



Location 



Benn's Church 

Bobs 

Carrsville 
Chuckatuck . 
McClelland .. 
Moonlight . . . 

Raynor 

Wells Corner . 
Windsor .... 
Whitely 



Depth of 
wells 

(Feet) 



12-20 

12-40 

15-24 

18-20 

10-30 

12-15 

10-100 

12-1 6 

12-18 

10-15 



Water bed 



Sand 

Sand and marl 

Sand and clay 

Marl and blue clay 

Sand and marl 

Sand 

Sand 

Clay and sand 

Sand 



Quality of 
water 



Soft and hard 
Soft and hard 
Soft 
Hard 
Soft and hard 
Soft 
Fail- 
Soft 
Soft, irony 
Soft 



196 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Conclusions. — While more care than formerly is now being taken in the 
location and protection of dug wells, there are man}- that are liable to pollu- 
tion. Artesian water of satisfactory quality can be had anywhere in the 
county at a maximum depth of 300 feet below tide, but to drill with the ex- 
pectation of getting flows at points higher than 35 feet above sea level will 
probably prove a waste of effort, except near James River, where carefully 
cased wells may find water that will rise 40 feet above sea level. Potable 
water can be found at greater depths, and the Potomac group in particular 
contains vast supplies. These is nothing to indicate that the Potomac water 
will not be potable at 1,500 feet below surface, though in the northeast 
corner of the county these very deep waters are liable to be more mineralized 
than those obtained from the Chesapeake beds. 

JAMES CITY COUNTY. 

General description. — James City Count}-, one oI ? the original eight 
shires of the colony of Virginia, lies north of James River and Chicka- 
hominy Eiver, and south of York River. Historically, the county is note- 
worthy for containing Jamestown, the site of the first permanent settlement 
of English-speaking people on the American continent, and Williamsburg, 
the first incorporated city in Virginia. At Williamsburg is William and 
Mary College, the original charter of which antedates that of Harvard 
College, making it the oldest chartered institution of learning in the United 
States. 

Situated between York and James rivers, the county has characteristic 
topography of the western shore type ; the Sunderland terrace forms the 
divide but lias been dissected by streams flowing to the rivers on either side. 
The principal streams are Diascond Creek, a tributary of Chickahomiuv 
River: Ware and Taskinash creeks, which empty into York River; and 
Warwick River, a tributary of York River, which separates the county 
from Warwick County on the northeast. The greatest elevation of the 
Sunderland plain is in the northern part of the county between Ware and 
Diascond creeks, where it is about 130 feet high. Along Y r ork River tbere 
are only small patches of the Wicomico terrace, but along James River, 
and particularly along Chickahominy River, there are some wide stretches 
of it having an altitude of from 50 to 80 feet. The lowest plain is better 
represented along James River than along York River, and is especially 
conspicuous in the vicinity of Jamestown Island. 

Geology, — The Potomac and Pamunkey beds lie below tide level. The 
top of the Potomac or Upper Cretaceous is 320 feet below tide level at the 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 19? 

west end of the county, and 580 feet at the east end. The top of the 
Pamunkey is 180 to 380 feet below sea level. Of the Chesapeake formations 
only the Yorktown and St. Mary's outcrop. Their characteristic dark 
greenish or bluish sands and sandy clays and included beds of shell marl, 
weathered to reddish, buff and yellowish tints, are seen at marl pits. The 
total thickness of the St. Mary's exceeds 200 feet, but is not exposed above 
tide water within the limits of the county. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — Ground water, found in the Columbia and 
Chesapeake formations, is mostly soft, but in places marl beds yield hard, 
irony water. The water from the Pamunkey and Chesapeake beds has all 
the characteristics of that from corresponding horizons in adjoining 
counties. It is beautifully clear and slightly alkaline, but at some places 
is sulphur-bearing. Though plenty of potable water can undoubtedly be 
obtained from the Potomac beds little is known of their possibilities. 

Springs. — There are a great many springs in the county, but none of 
commercial importance. They are used to some extent for household 
supply, but mostly for watering stock. The waters resemble those obtained 
from shallow wells in being clear and soft when flowing from Columbia 
sands, and hard or even iron-bearing when issuing from Chesapeake marl 
beds. Springs of perennial flow are numerous, but flows of more than 
10 gallons to the minute are few. 

Wells. — Dug wells are the chief source of domestic supply. Some 
drilled wells have been sunk near Williamsburg and along the river, but 
the number is not large. The prices for sinking these have varied accord- 
ing to the diameter, etc. A number of 3 -inch wells near Jamestown cost 
about $1 per foot, complete. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

Williamsburg, with a population of 2,044, had no public water supply 
system in 1906 ; the inhabitants relied chiefly on dug wells, though there 
were some cisterns in the town. The deeper dug wells get hard and irony 
water from the Chesapeake marls. As the town was without sewers, and 
the location and surroundings of some wells made their pollution easy, and 
as water from these wells may travel through the marls a considerable 
distance without undergoing purification, the quality of the water from the 
dug wells in the central part of the town was not above suspicion. 



198 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

The deep wells at William and Mary College, the Eastern State Hospital 
for the Insane, the ice plant, and the knitting mill, particulars of which 
are given in table 5, tap coarse greenish sands full of shell fragments 
near the base of the Chesapeake. The water rises about 35 feet above mean 
high tide in James Eiver, and as the surface elevation is 60 to 80 feet, 
pumping is necessary. At William and Mary College, the knitting mill, 
and the ice plant, deep well pumps are used ; at the Eastern State Hospital 
an air-lift. Two wells supply the hospital; one is 8 inches in diameter; 
the other, owned by the Marshall estate, is 6 inches. The supply from the 
first is about 50 gallons per minute and from the second 100 gallons per 
minute. Thirty-five horse power is required to drive a duplex air com- 
pressor (air cylinders lS 1 ^ by 12*4 by 12 inches), which furnishes air 
under a pressure of 75 pounds per square inch to both wells. The water 
runs to a reservoir, whence it is forced by a steam pump to an elevated 
tank. Both wells still throw considerable sand containing fragments of 
Miocene shells up to several inches in diameter, though the wells have been 
pumped steadily for over 10 years. The water is used by about 1,000 
persons. An analysis made by Dr. W. H. Taylor, State chemist, is given 
in recalculated form in table 8. An increased supply for the asylum, if 
needed, can be obtained without great difficulty by deepening the present 
wells, or by sinking new wells 200 feet or so deeper. 

The well at William and Mary College has a deep well pump, geared to 
a 4-horse power gasoline engine. The yield is about 50 gallons of water 
per minute. The water is forced to a 30,000-gallon tank on a steel tower 
75 feet high. About 200 people used this water in 1906. 

The general similarity of the water from the Williamsburg wells is 
shown by the analyses in table 8. Except for a tendency to foam it works 
well in a boiler, neither forming scale nor corroding. In the open air it 
corrodes iron, and tanks on steel towers need to be kept tight to prevent 
damage to the towers. 

Of the wells on York Eiver, one of the most notable is that of W. H. 
I>a\i>. ~l'.\~) feet deep, on Taskinash Creek, 2 miles north of Croaker. The 
water has been sold in small amounts for medicinal and tabic purposes. 
An analysis, recalculated from one furnished by the owner, is given in 
table 8. 

A flowing wcJI on Chisholm Creek, 8 miles southwest of Lightfoot, 
owned by the Powhatan Fish and Gun Club, gets water from a mid-Chesa- 
peake bed at 148 feet. 

The flows from recent wells near Jamestown Island deserve particular 
notice because of their volume and head. The wells (see table S) get 



JAMES CITY COUNTY. 



199 



water between 270 and 300 feet below mean high tide in greensands that 
in places contain pebbles over a half inch in diameter. One of these wells, 
that of W. H. Ayers, is but 3 inches in diameter yet flows 85 gallons per 
minute at an elevation of about 15 feet above high tide; the head is 43 
feet. This well, at the time it was completed, had perhaps the best flow 
of any in Tidewater Virginia having the same diameter. The green- 
sand of the water bed contained pebbles of quartz and silicified limestone 
nearly 1 inch in diameter. Frank Carman, the driller, procured from a 
nearby well belonging to Chas. Babcock a series of samples, from which and 
his notes the following log has been compiled: 

Record of well of Charles Babcock, 1 mile north of Jamestoiun. 
(Authority, Frank Carman, driller.) 



Material 



Soil and red clay (no sample) 

Reddish sand (no sample) ; water at 15 feet 

White sand and small gravel; water at 45 feet 

Dark bluish clay (dark greenish, slightly sandy, micaceous 
clay, with shell fragments) 

Grayish sand 

Shell marl, hard layer of shell rock, drill drops in going through 

Grayish sand 

Light-colored mud, soft at top, tough at bottom 

Very hard gray sand, light stream of water at about 170 
feet, would not rise to surface (sample at 173 feet contained 
glauconite ) 

Coarse gray sand 

Coarse black sand (quartz sand full of dark green to black 
glauconite; sharks tooth at 193 feet; light stream of water 
at 190 feet, rose to 10 feet of surface) 

Blue mud (dark sandy clay, slightly glauconitic) 

Blue marl, at wells nearby a stiff red clay which choked pipe 

Black sand (coarse quartz sand full of dark glauconite) runs 
badly and clogs drill pipe, water at 260 feet 

Shell bed in sand 

Sand and shells 

Sand rock 

Sand, with coarse gravel; water-bearing 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


6 


6 


10 


16 


39 


54 


45 


99 


10 


109 


30 


139 


10 


149 


13 


162 


16% 


178% 


2% 


181 


45 


226 


25 


251 


3 


254 


26 


280 


5 


285 


4 


289 


21 


310 


10 


320 



Other fine artesian wells in the immediate vicinity are owned by J. H. 
Franklin and S. W. Grimes. On Jamestown Island, in the rear of the 
ruins of the old church, a well 6 inches in diameter was sunk in 1905 for 
the Society for the Preservation of Virginia i^ntiquities, that owns the 
ground on which stands the ruins of the church and of Lord Ware's resi- 
dence. The well flows about 40 gallons per minute at an elevation of 8 
feet above high tide. The greensand water bed contains large pebbles. 



200 UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

The water from all the wells near Jamestown Island resembles that 
from the wells at Williamsburg. A field assay of a sample from the well 
of W. F. Avers is given in table 8. 

The villages in the county, except Bacon, Jamestown, and Iola, stand on 
high ground near the line of Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and get water 
from dug wells. In places, as near Iola, a spring yields hard water, while 
a well nearby gives soft water. Such an occurrence of soft water below 
hard is to be explained by inequalities in the contact between the Chesa- 
peake and the overlying beds. The spring flows from a marl bed in the 
Chesapeake, while the well on the terrace below does not reach the Chesa- 
peake. The well showed the following section : 

Record of well at Iola. 

-, r . , Thickness Depth 

Material (F C( i j (F ce t) 



5fellow loam and clay 20 20 

White Band 2*/ 2 22 % 

bellow Band 2% 25 

Sand, pebbles, and cobbles; water 5 30 

The depths of wells, character of water bed, and quality of water at 
several post villages are shown in the following table: 

Details of some dug wells in ■lames City County. 



I. ">ation 



Bacon 

I )i i-eond 
Ewell . . 
Icda ... 
Toano . . 



Deptli 


Water bed 


Quality of 


(Feet) 




water 


10-15 


Sand 


Soft and hard 


15-62 


Sand and clay 




30-40 


Sand and marl 


Soft and hard 


10-30 


Sand and marl 


Soft and hard 


20-40 


Sand and gravel 


Soft 



Conclusions. — Cood artesian water can be had nearly everywhere in 
.James City County, but flows can not be expected at elevations greater than 
.'30 feet above tide level. The entire practicability of supplying Williams- 
burg with soft water free from bacteria is shown by the deep wells already 
drilled. Larger flows than those now obtained can be had by going to 
sands 200 feet deeper. 

KING AND QUEEN COUNTY. 

General description. — King and Queen County, formed from New Kent 
in L691, lies north of York and Mattaponi rivers. Walkerton, the largest 
village, has a population of about £50. 



KING AND QUEEN COUNTY. 201 

Most of the southern part of the count}' lies between Mattaponi and 
Pianketank rivers, but much the larger portion of this part and all the 
northern part drains to the Mattaponi Eiver, Forge Mill Swamp, and 
Chesetank Creek being the most important tributaries of the Mattaponi ris- 
ing within the county. Pianketank Eiver, which rises in Dragon Swamp, 
is peculiar in having no important tributaries throughout its course. The 
general relief of the county is like that of much of Tidewater Virginia. 
The divide between Pianketank and Mattaponi rivers is formed by the undu- 
lating Sunderland plain, which is deeply trenched by tributaries of the 
latter stream. Lower terraces are found along the rivers. The maximum 
elevations of the Sunderland range between 180 feet at the northwest end of 
the county, and 100 feet near the southeast end. 

Geology. — The greensands of the Xanjemoy formation (Pamunkey) 
and the sands of the Calvert and Choptank formations (Chesapeake) are 
exposed along Mattaponi Eiver. The Pamunkey greensands and shells 
show above low tide level from Beverly Creek to above Walkerton. 

The Potomac beds are deeply buried. Of the surficial formation of the 
Coastal Plain, the Lafayette does not reach as far east as the western end 
of the county, but all the Columbian formations are present, their clayey 
and sandy loams forming much the greater proportion of the soils. These 
formations, the Sunderland especially, are more pebbly toward the western 
end of the count}^. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The existence of water-bearing sands in the 
Chesapeake, Pamunkey, and Potomac formations has been proved by 
artesian wells along Mattaponi Eiver. Most of the wells, at Walkerton 
and below, get water from Pamunkey greensands, or possibly sands of 
Matawan age, though in the lack of fossil evidence it is not possible to say 
that Upper Cretaceous beds extend as far west as King and Queen Court- 
house. None of the sands tapped gives flows at over 40 feet above sea level. 

All the artesian waters are soft and alkaline from bicarbonate of soda. 
The iron and lime content are generally low; the proportion of common 
salt present is remarkably low under the western part of the county, but 
increases a little toward the east. Most of the flows are not noticeably 
sulphur-bearing. 

The shallow waters vary ; most of those in the Sunderland and Wicomico 
formations are soft. Shallow water in Chesapeake beds is liable to be hard. 

Springs. — Springs are numerous, as stream valleys and gullies cut 
through the Sunderland and later Columbia formations and expose the 



202 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OE COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

less permeable beds of the Chesapeake. Many of these springs are of fair 
size, but none is of commercial importance. 

Wells. — Dug wells ranging in depth from 10 to 40 feet are the principal 
sources of domestic water supply. Driven wells are comparatively few. 
Along Mattaponi River is a considerable number of drilled wells, 120 to 
300 feet deep. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Walkerton dug wells were for many years the sole source of 
domestic supply. Xow there are only three or four dug wells, which are 
mostly at barns. They get water at depths of 18 to 25 feet in the terrace 
above Mattaponi River. Water for drinking and household purposes, also 
for a pickle house, is obtained from artesian wells of which over 20 have 
been put down. All but one or two get water from Pamunkey sands which 
lie 200 feet or more below tide level. The deepest well, that of John A. 
Mitchell, was bored for coal which was supposed to underlie the village. 
It went down 372 feet but found no coal and no flow below a free one at 
about 250 feet. The shallowest well, that at the steamboat wharf, is said 
to be but 180 feet deep, yet it flows a good stream. One well owned by the 
Mattaponi Pickle Co. gets its flow from the Potomac at a depth variously 
stated as 330 and 350 feet, but found several flows above the one developed. 

No records of the Walkerton wells were kept, but all the beds went 
through "rock" and found water in black or gray sand below. One well 
drilled in 1906 flowed a little sand for a few months after it was com- 
pleted. This sand which came up through a %-inch pipe extending to the 
bottom of the well, 235 feet, consisted of medium fine quartz grains with 
black and dark green granules of glauconite. 

The later wells at Walkerton have casing .to the first rock struck or have 
pipe to the bottom, but the earlier wells were cased only about 20 feet. 
Many of these wells undoubtedly leak below the casing, have become 
clogged by sand, and have had their yields reduced by wells at lower ele- 
vations, tapping the same bed. Some wells on the terrace, 30 feet above 
the river, flow very weakly at high tide and at low tide barely drip, though 
when first completed they flowed strongly. The original head of the deeper 
Walkerton wells was probably 35 to 10 feet above mean high water. 

All the wells yield alkaline water, which at most wells has a faint 
sulphur odor. The field assay in table 9 shows the softness, the low 
chlorine content, and the decided alkalinity, characteristics of the flows. 
This water can be used in a horizontal boiler, but foams badly in a vertical 

boiler. 

Above Walkerton on Mattaponi River is a tine well, drilled at the 
bottom of ;i bluff in front of the residence of A. B. Gwathmey. It is hut 



KING AND QUEEN COUNTY. 



203 



190 feet deep, but flowed at an elevation of 8 feet, fully 35 gallons per 
minute. The head is 35 feet, so that while the water will not rise to the 
level of the ground on which the house stands, 40 feet above the river, it 
can easily be raised by a rain. The water bed is described as black and 
green sand below a rock. Samples showed the rock to be a medium-coarse, 
indurated sand, containing much dark glauconite and many shell frag- 
ments; it might be termed a glauconitic sandstone. At a 275-foot well, 
owned of John 1ST. Eyland, half a mile from the river, the water rises to 
17 feet from surface or about 40 feet above tide, and has to be pumped. 

Below Walkerton, near the mouth of Mantapike Creek, a 150-foot well, 
owned by the Mantapike Canning Co., flows 20 gallons per minute of ex- 
cellent water from basal Chesapeake beds. The actual cost of sinking was 
about $35. 

At King and Queen Courthouse a deep well, owned by the county, for- 
merly flowed, but in 1906 was pumped, the water rising about to the sur- 
face. It threw much fine sand which contained grains of glauconite. 

Along Mattaponi Eiver below the Courthouse and along York Eiver are 
many flowing wells. At Chain Ferry are two about 168 feet deep. The flow 
comes from the same Chesapeake beds that supply most of the many wells 
at West Point, and the waters are of essentially the same quality, soft, 
alkaline, and slightly sulphuretted. (See field assay in table 8.) 

Xear the east end of the county a well near Gressitt, belonging to W. F. 
Anderson, is cased to rock, and after being in use 11 years flowed 8 gallons 
per minute at 11 feet above tide. It taps the same beds as the wells at 
Chain Ferry, and the water is of the same general quality. 

A number of villages report the data shown in the following table : 



Details of dug tvells in King and Queen County. 



Location 


Depth of 
well 

(Feet) 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


Biscoe 

Box 


10-50 
30-75 
20-60 
20-50 
20-40 
10-40 
15-50 
30-40 
30-50 
30-50 
25-40 
20-30 
14-24 
15-25 
22-45 


Clay, sand and gravel 

Sand 

Sand 

Sand and marl 

Clay and sand 
Gravel and sand 

Marl 

Sand 

Sand 
Sand and marl 

Gravel 

Sand 
Marl and sand 


Soft 
Soft 


Carlton's Store 


Soft 


Cologne 


Soft 


Cumnor 


Soft to hard 


Dragonville 


Hard 


Edna 


Soft and hard 


Elsom 


Slightlv hard 


Favor 


Hard 


Indian Neck 




Little Plvmouth 


Hard to soft 


Plainview 




Shackelford 


Soft to hard 


Shanghai 


Soft 


Stevensville 


Hard 







204 UNDERGBOUND WATEK RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

At Edna the deeper wells go through soil, yellow clay, and thin beds 
of white and yellow sand to about 35 feet, finding water in white sand and 
small gravel below iron crusts. 

At Favor the average section of 35-foot wells shows red and yellow loam, 
black "fullers earth, 7 '" "rock," and shell marl; while at Plainview wells 
go through loam. clay, white sand, and fullers earth, below which is shell 
marl. 

I inclusions. — Artesian water of good quality can be had under the 
whole of King and Queen County, but flows can not be expected at eleva- 
tions of over 30 feet above tide. In places where the interference of wells 
has resulted in diminished yield, more water under higher heads can be had 
by going deeper. Places on high ground can avail themselves of the soft, 
germ-free artesian waters by pumps, but at elevations above 50 feet the wells 
should 1)0 of sufficient diameter to permit the use of pump barrels inside the 
casing. 

KING GEORGE COUNTY. 

General description. — King George County, formed from Richmond 
County in 1720, occupies the west end of the Northern Xeck, the peninsula 
between Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. The county contains no large 
towns and no large villages. Some of the farms are owned by men of 
wealth who are remodeling the old mansions ami installing water supply 
plants drawing on artesian flows. 

Lying near the western edge of the Coastal Plain, and having tidal 
rivers on two sides, King George County has greater relief than most 
counties of Tidewater Virginia. As a rule the divide between the rivers 
is rather narrow, ami is much dissected; it comprises portions of the 
Lafayette and Sunderland plains. The Lafayette plain has an elevation of 
220 feet near Boscobel farm. King George Courthouse stands on the Sun- 
derland plain at an elevation of 130 feet. 

ology. — Potomac, Pamunkey, and Chesapeake deposits underlie King 
George County; the first are not exposed, but the Pamunkey clays and 
greensands are exposed along Potomac River from the county line to 
Mathiae Point, and along Rappahannock River from 10 miles below 
Fredericksburg to I miles below Port Royal. At the western side of the 
county the Pamunkey hoi- pise 125 feet above tide Level; at the eastern 
side their surface is jusl below tide level. Their total thickness is 200 to 
850 led. and the Potomac-Pamunkey contact dips east 12 to 25 feet to the 
mile, its depth below tide varying from ■~> , > to 220 feet. 



KING GEORGE COUNTY. 205 

The Calvert formation of the Chesapeake contains much diatomaceous 
material, especially in the southeast corner of the county near Wilmont 
Landing on the Kappahannock, where dry fragments of the light-colored 
diatomaceous clays float when they fall into the river from the conspicuous 
bluffs. 

The Chesapeake sands, clays, and marls are mantled by the buff and 
yellow Lafayette and Columbia loams with beds of sand, gravel, and cobbles. 
Boulders 5 feet or more long are found in the lower terraces. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The waters in the Columbia sands vary in 
quality from clear and soft to irony and hard. Although the Potomac 
sands underlie the whole county, and undoubtedly contain much water, few 
wells have been sunk to them. The basal sands of the Aquia formation of 
the Pamunkey contain supplies of soft water. The Chesapeake, as it lies 
above sea level, contains no sands that yield flows. The shallow Chesapeake 
waters are generally hard. 

Springs. — Because of the dissection of the surface the county contains 
many springs, mostly of small size. A few are used for domestic supply. 
None of commercial importance has been reported. 

Wells. — Dug wells with wood lining are the main source of domestic 
supply. Because of imperfect drainage, wells located on the lower and 
flatter terraces are particularly liable to contamination by surface water, 
and some of the backyard wells with decayed lining, through which all 
manner of filth drips at every rain, are a continual invitation to visitations 
of typhoid fever. Driven wells are much preferable from a sanitary stand- 
point, and the deep flowing wells are inexpensive in comparison with the 
security they give. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

Rappahannock River. — Two miles east of Sealston is a 250-foot flowing- 
well drawing on Potomac beds, owned by John Curtis. It is on a terrace at 
an elevation of about 35 feet above tide, and flows two-thirds of a gallon per 
minute. It is notewortlry for showing variations of flow, due to fluctua- 
tions of atmospheric pressure, as stated on page 38. The water, used for 
drinking, is not so soft as the Pamunkey flows, but is of excellent quality. 
Xo record was kept of the formations penetrated; the well was driven to 
247 feet and drilled below. The flow is from "quicksand." 

At or near Port Conway are several flowing wells drawing on the sands 
at the base of the Pamunkey or on Potomac sands. One supplies water for 



206 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

a canning factory: another at the residence of E. V. Hunter is harnessed 
to a small ram that supplies the house; and a third at Oakenbrow farm, 
owned by Dr. J. H. Low, flows only about 2 gallons per minute at the level 
of the terrace on which it stands, but by a gasoline engine and pump 200 
gallons per minute can be forced to a tank at the residence, on a bold head- 
land of the Sunderland terrace, 100 feet above the well. 

The character of the material penetrated at Port Conway is indicated 
by the following generalized section: 

Record of well of R. V. Turner, Port Conway. 
(Authority.. O. D. Hale, driller.) 

-, r ^ . , Thickness Depth 

Matei ' ial (Feet) (Feet) 



Sand and gravel I 12 12 

Light and dark clay (blue and lead-colored) | 212 224 

Sand ; water-bearing | 8 232 

The flows of the Port Conway wells are clear and soft. The water has 
a slight odor of "sulphur" when fresh from the well. (For field assays see 
table 8.) 

The exact depths of the wells at Wilmont Landing could not be ascer- 
tained, but they probably tap the sands near the base of the Pamunkey 
about 275 feet below sea level. 

On the wide terrace along Eappahannock River, near Sealston, is a 
considerable number of driven wells. From one the following record was 
reported : 

Record of well of Frank Taylor, 2 miles south of Sealston. 





Material 


Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 


Red loam 


3 
3 
6 

4 
2 
3 


3 


Red clav 


6 


Fine red sand . . 


12 




16 




18 


Boulders and cobbles 


21 


Marl, black sand ... 









This section is said to be characteristic of driven wells in the vicinity. 

I'otomac River. — Several flowing wells have been drilled along Potomac 
River from Chatterton east. The waters are from near the base of the Aquia 
formation of the Pamunkey, or from the Potomac. 



KIXG GEORGE COUNTY. 



207 



A well on Mathias Point is reported to have shown the following section 
Record of well of C. H. Pemberton. yiathias Point. 



Material 

Sandy clay 

Black shell marl 

Red clay with shells 

Gravel and sand , 

Rock and clay 

Blue clay 

Sandstone and clav; stone at 227 feet, water at 236 feet 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


30 


30 


35 


65 


56 


121 


20 


141 


30 


171 


30 


201 


35 


236 



This well has only 16 feet of casing, but a 1-inch pipe runs to the 
bottom. The water, soft and clear, is used for household purposes. A 
field assay of a sample is given in table 9. 

Near Pluck, Dido, and Vivian are several flowing wells that were drilled 
at oyster and fish-packing houses. The reported depths range from 175 
to 300 feet, but most of the wells probably draw on the Aquia sands. A 
flowing well near Pluck is but 50 feet deep, and its irony water evidently 
comes from a bed high up in the ISTanjemoy. 

At King George Courthouse are 7 or 8 dug wells, -10 to 50 feet deep, 
that get water from yellowish sands at the base of the Sunderland forma- 
tion, or at the top of the Chesapeake beds. The quality is fair. Conditions 
at some of the settlements dependent on dug wells are shown below : 

Details of some dug wells in King George County. 



Location 



Edgehill 

Hampstead . . 
Passapatanzy 
Rollins Fork 
Shiloh 



Depth 


Water bed 


Quality of 


(Feet) 




water 


25-60 


Sand 


Soft- 


60-100 


Clay and sand 


Good in deep wells 


18-90 


Clav, sand and marl 


Hard in deep wells 


40-65 


Gravel 


Soft 


30-50 


Sand and marl 


Soft 



Near Hampstead dug wells penetrate 25 feet of loam and clay, 15 feet 
of gravel and sand, and find water on the top of the Chesapeake marl. 
Here and at a number of other points in the county digging into the dark 
bluish, sandy clay or "marl" of the Chesapeake obtains a scanty supply of 
water of poor quality for domestic use. 

Conclusions. — Good artesian water, soft but alkaline, that will rise 
20 to 30 feet above sea level can be had at nearly all places in the county. 



208 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

KING WILLIAM COUNTY. 

General description. — King William County lies between Mattaponi 
and Pamunkey rivers, extending some 30 miles northeast of the point where 
they unite to form York River. At the junction of Pamunkey and Matta- 
poni rivers is the city of West Point, with a population of 1,397 in 1910. 
The county is rather sparsely inhabited and contains few large villages, 
some of the larger being Lester Manor, Cohoke. King William, and Aylett. 

Topography. — The topography is diversified. The northwestern portion 
of the county approaches the western edge of the Coastal Plain, and the 
Lafayette terrace extends into it, but most of the surface is formed by the 
Sunderland terrace, which is deeply cut by stream valleys. Along both 
Pamunkey and Mattaponi rivers are expanses of the Wicomico and lower 
terraces, especially the Wicomico, which contain much good farming land. 
The elevation of the Lafayette terrace is about 200 feet, while that of the 
Sunderland is 180 feet in the northwestern part of the county, and 110 feet 
in the southeastern part. The Wicomico terrace varies in elevation from 
50 to 90 feet, and the other lies below 60 feet. 

Geology. — -Potomac. Pamunkey, and Chesapeake beds underlie the 
county, but the Potomac beds are not exposed. The top of the Potomac 
may be 200 feet below tide level on the northwestern boundary of the 
county, and 400 feet below at West Point. 

The greensands of the Aquia and Xanjemoy formations of the 
Pamunkey group outcrop along the Pamunkey River from the west end of 
the county to Piping Tree Ferry, where they disappear below the tide level. 
Above the Pamunkey are Chesapeake sands and clays more or less covered 
by Lafayette or Columbia gravels, sands, and loams. The base of the 
Chesapeake is 20 feet above tide level on the Pamunkey near Hanover 
< "ii i-i house and 180 feet below at West Point. The base of the Pamunkey 
group is L50 to ;> >~> ,) feel below. In the Wicomico and Talbot formations of 
the Columbia, particularly along Pamunkey River, are many large sub- 
angular boulders. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality: — Ground water that supplies springs and 
-hallow wells is round in the Pamunkey in the western part of the county, 
in the Chesapeake in the eastern, and in the Lafayette and Columbia terrace 
materials, [ts quality generally is excellent. Artesian waters underlie the 
whole county. The Chesapeake and Pamunkey group- furnish fine (lows 
in the eastern part of the county. Ai the western end of the county, where 
the Chesapeake lies above tide level, water that will rise above tide level 
can be had from the Potomac, but few wells have been drilled to ii. 



KING WILLIAM COUNTY. 209 

The Pamunkey and basal Chesapeake waters differ but little, being 
delightfully soft, and more or less alkaline from the presence of bicarbonate 
of soda: some are slightly sulphur-bearing. 

Springs. — There are many springs in King William County, but few 
that are of especial note and none of commercial importance. 

Wells. — Dug wells are the main source of supply over most of the 
county : but. except Southampton County, there is no county in Tidewater 
Virginia having more drilled wells, as a large number have been sunk in 
the city of West Point. The drilled wells are nearly all of small diameter 
and the great majority draw on Calvert beds. The flows of properly drilled 
and cased wells are generally free, but the waters do not rise more than 
about 35 feet above tide level, hence there are not many wells on the 30 to 
50 foot terrace along Pamunkey Eiver above Elsing Green. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

Aylett. on Mattaponi Eiver, noted in colonial times for its export ship- 
ments of corn, has only three dug wells, which are from 20 to 65 
feet deep: two sunk over 60 feet obtained scanty supplies of hard water. 
Several families use the water from a spring just below the terrace on 
which the village stands. 

Two artesian wells on the terrace, 25 feet above the river, get clear, soft 
water in basal Pamunkey beds at 160 feet below mean high tide. One of 
these wells, owned by J. C. Pox, was put down at a total cost of but $40. 
The small flow, one-third of a gallon per minute, is due to the elevation, 
and possibly also to there being only 20 feet of 2-inch casing in the well, but 
the flow suffices for domestic purposes and for 20 head of stock, the over- 
flow from a tank at the well being piped to the barn. This well is said to 
have gone through 20 feet of Columbia loam and sand, some 60 feet of 
"fullers earth" or fine dark clay, and then through beds of shell marl and 
rock, five or six "rocks" in all, before finding water in a gray sand. Xo 
flows were found above the one used, and the head of this is about 35 feet 
above mean high tide in the Mattaponi. A complete analysis of a sample 
of water from this well appears in table 8. 

The other well, owned by Dr. J. B. Moore, also has only 20 feet of cas- 
ing, but a %-inch pipe goes to the bottom of the water-bearing sand at 
190 feet. 

West Point is situated on low land, mostly not over 15 feet high. Along 
the rivers were formerly open marshes. Owing to the low elevation, a water 
table near the surface, and a sandy soil, the dug wells or driven pumps 



15 



210 CTNDEBGBOUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

which were once the chief source of supply, were particularly liable to pollu- 
tion, and the city once had a reputation for malaria and typhoid fever. 
Sim-e the introduction of artesian water there has been a great improve- 
ment in public health, and local physicians claim that cases of typhoid 
fever originating in the city are practically unknown. The total number 
of drilled wells may be 300. They range in depths from 110 to 360 feet. 
but all draw on one or more of three water beds; the first at 110 to 120 
fee i. the second from 160 to 170 feet, and the third from 320 to 3-10 feet. 
The first, low in the Chesapeake, yields scant supplies of water having a 
decided sulphur odor and is now little used. The second, in basal Chesa- 
peake beds, yields water that has a very slight sulphur odor, and to it the 
great majority of the wells in the city have been drilled. The third, in the 
Pamunkey. yields water much like that from the second, but it has been 
tapped by comparatively few wells. The two upper horizons once had 
strong heads, 15 to 25 feet, but the drilling of many poorly cased wells, and 
the constant flow from wells near the shore but a few feet above tide, have 
greatly lowered the heads in both sands, so that wells to the 120-foot sands 
will not flow at more than 4 or 5 feet above tide, and those to the 165-foot 
at not over 10 feet. This loss of head through interference lias been dis- 
cussed on page 71. AVells driven to the third flow are put down with 
care, and are usually cased to the bottom. The head of this flow is about 
30 feet above tide. 

All the West Point wells feel the rise and fall of the tide, and many 
flow at high water and do not at low water. The largest well at West Point 
was pur down for the Sourhern Eailway. The record was destroyed by a 
fiiv. and detailed records of the many small wells have nor been kept. 

The following generalized section was given by one of the most careful 
drillers in the city : 

Generalized section at West Point. 
(Authority, J. V. Bray, driller.) 



Materia] 








Thickness 


Depth 
(Feet) 


Loam or marsh mud 


10 
100 

11 

5 
20 

I 

1 

160 


in 


Fullers earth 


110 


Sholls, no sand 


121 
120 


White s;md 


146 


Greensand 


152 


Shells, second How at 160 feet 


100 


Thin bed of reddish clay 


161 


Black Band and gravel, third How in 


gravel 


at 320 


feet 


321 



Another record of a well drilled near the post-office is as follows 



KING WILLIAM COUNTY 



211 



Record of well of Wm. Wheeler, West Point. 
(Authority, J. Frank Smith, driller.) 



Material 


Thickness 

(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 


Fullers earth 


90 
35 

15 

40 

140 

SO 


90 


Fine white sand, small stream of sulphur water at 112 feet. . . 
Fullers earth 


125 
140 


Shells, with good water at 150 feet 

Black sand with "beautiful gravel" at 316 to 320 feet 

flocks with sand below 


180 
320 
400 









Artesian water is used at West Point for all domestic purposes and for 
boiler supply. The large number of wells drilled and their low cost, drillers 
asking but $50 for a 2-inch well to the second flow, delayed the installation 
of a public waterworks system. The present system, described on page 78, 
distributes water from wells tapping the 325-foot flow. The bacterial 
purity of this water is beyond question, and the quantity obtainable with 
ordinary care in development should be sufficient for years to come. Field 
assays of the water from several wells in West Point, and a complete 
analysis of water from the 165-foot flow, taken from a well at Beech Park, 
the property of the Southern Eailroad Co., are given in tables 8 and 9. The 
water is notable for the percentage of sulphates. 

The water from both the 165-foot and 325-foot wells has a tendency to 
foam in a boiler, and works best in horizontal boilers. It is, nevertheless, 
used in vertical marine boilers by tugs and other river craft. With a 
horizontal boiler it is the custom to blow off some water ever}^ few days 
to prevent the water from becoming too concentrated. The artesian water 
is much used at the large oyster houses for washing oysters. For this pur- 
pose it is most admirably suited, its bacterial purity making it especially 
desirable for washing shucked oysters. 

In or near Lester Manor about 10 drilled wells find flows in fine to 
coarse Pamunkey sands that contain much dark green glauconite, and many 
shell fragments, a greensand marl. The following generalized record was 
furnished from memory : 

Record of well of John G. Robins, 3 miles west of Lester Manor. 
(Authority, H. E. Shrimp, driller.) 



Material 



Clay 

Shell rock . . 
Fullers earth 



Thickness 

(Feet) 

60 
50 
90 



Depth 
(Feet) 

60 
110 
200 



212 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

The water bed at this well is a medium quartz sand containing much 
glauconite. 

On Pamunkey Eiver above Lester Manor, wells have been driven at 
Elsing Green, near Palls, and southeast of Manquin. The driller gave from 
memory the following record of one of the wells at Elsing Green : 

Record of well of Roger Gregory, at Elsing Green. 
(Authority, H. E. Shrimp, driller.) 

Material 



Thickness 

(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 


10 
50 
30 


10 
60 
90 


180 
30 


270 

300 



Loam and gravel, surface water 

Bluish sandy clay 

Rock, full of fossil shells 

Bluish slightly sandy clay, lighter than clay above, water at 

bottom 

Soft greenish rock, sandy in places, no shells in it 

A sample from a reported depth of 300 feet was a coarse quartz sand 
containing much glauconite. 

The wells southeast of Manquin may draw on the Potomac flows ; one of 
these, owned by C. B. Chapman, 6 inches in diameter and 237 feet deep, 
yields 61^ gallons per minute of soft water that is piped to half a dozen 
places about the farm buildings, and is used in steam boilers (for analysis 
see table 10). The following record was furnished from memory by 
Edward Williams : 

Record of well of C. B. Chapman, 1 mile south of Manquin. 



Materia] 


Thickness 

(Feci i 


Depth 

(Feet) 


Loam, clay and sand 


10 

175 

40 

12 


10 


Marl and greensand with shells 


185 


Stiff blue clay 


225 


The water sand is medium coarse and contains flakes of mica. 


237 



Several flowing wells have been drilled at Cohoke to the Pamunkey 
horizon tapped at Lester Manor. The driller gave the following record 
of one : 

Record of well of J. N. O. Johnson, near Coho/rc. 
(Authority, H. E. Shimp, driller.) 



Material 


Thickness 

(Fret) 


Depth 

(Feet ) 




100 
52 
88 


100 


Shell rock 


152 




240 




240 









LANCASTER COUNTY. 



213 



The water bed is a medium coarse quartz sand containing much dark 
green glauconite, and many fragments of shells. 

On Mattaponi Eiver opposite Walkerton are wells which draw on 
horizons tapped at Walkerton., mentioned in the description of King and 
Queen County. 

An attempt was made about 20 years ago to obtain artesian water at 
King William Courthouse. A well some 350 feet deep found water, but, 
since the courthouse stands on the Sunderland terrace at an elevation of 
135 feet above tide water, no flow was obtained and the well was abandoned. 
It is stated that the water rose to within 17 or 18 feet of the surface, but 
since the heads of the flows at Walkerton, a few miles away, are under 40 
feet, this seems altogether unlikely. 

At some of the villages in King William County which depend on dug 
wells conditions are summarized as follows : 



Details of dug wells in King William County. 



Locality 


Depth of 
wells 

(Feet) 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


Bculahville 


19-75 
20-40 

15-25 
20-40 
20-45 
15-80 




Hard 


Duane 


Sand and gravel 


Fail- 


Enfield 




Lanesville 


Clay and sand 


Soft 


Manquin 




Sand 
Clay and sand 


Soft 


Svkron 


Soft to hard 



Conclusions. — Enough wells have been driven to show the entire 
practicability of getting flows of soft alkaline water at elevations of less 
than 35 feet over nearly all of the eastern part of King William County. 
Where wells have been closely driven and have been allowed to flow without 
restraint, as at West Point, resulting in general loss of head, more abundant 
flows under higher head of as good water can be had by going deeper. 

On high ground, as at King William Courthouse, flows are impossible, 
but the artesian water can readily be obtained by the use of deep well 
pumps. At King William a well 450 feet deep will reach the sand supply- 
ing the Walkerton wells, but the water from these will not rise to 50 feet 
of surface. 

LANCASTER COUNTY. 

General description. — Lancaster County, formed in 1651, lies on the 
north side of Eappahannock River near its mouth, occupying the southern 



214 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLA1X PROVINCE. 

part of the end of the peninsula between Rappahannock and Potomac rivers. 
The principal settlements are Irvington and Weems. 

The topography, though the greater elevations are less than in counties 
to the west, shows considerable variet}'. A high terrace with an undulating 
surface cut by Y-shaped creek valleys extends eastward nearly to Kil- 
marnock. Lancaster Courthouse stands on it. The maximum elevation in 
the northwest end of the county is 90 feet. Lower terraces are traceable 
■along Rappahannock River and face Chesapeake Bay. The drainage is 
mostly to the Rappahannock, the county line on the northeast following the 
Potomac-Rappahannock divide. Along the bay coast are many tidal inlets 
and the shoreline is extremely irregular. 

Geology. — Though the sandy loams of the Columbia (Pleistocene) for- 
mations cover most of the surface, shell beds and sands belonging to the St. 
Mary's formation of the Chesapeake (Miocene) group are exposed in head- 
lands along Rappahannock River and in creek gullies. 

The bottom of the Chesapeake lies 360 feet below tide level at the Rich- 
mond County line and nearly 600 feet below at Windmill Point. So far as 
can be determined from well records the underlying Pamunkey (Eocene) 
group is about 100 feet thick, its base lying 480 feet to 700 feet below tide. 
At \\ 'indmill Point the top of the Potomac group (Lower Cretaceous) is 
fully 800 feet below sea level, and crystalline bed rock over 1,000 feet 
deeper. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The Columbia sands and the to]) \n'i}> of the 
Chesapeake contain much ground water; the quality differs from place to 
place, here soft, there hard or irony. On low tracts near tidal inlets the 
ground water is at times brackish. 

ArtesiaD waters underlie all the county. The water bed most widely 
developed is a coarse sand in the Calvert formation, lying about 240 feet 
below tide al Whealton and 320 feet below at Irvington. The water is 
alkaline, -oft. and sulphur-bearing. This sand either thins out or becomes 
too clayey to transmil water a few miles east of Irvington, and attempts to 
gel water from it have had little success. Mows have been obtained from 
Pamunkey Bands that lie 500 to 700 feet below sea level, and from Upper 
Cretaceous deposits. The Pamunkey sands, like the Chesapeake, are less 
freely water-bearing toward the east end of the county. 

Springs. Below the scarp of the high terrace are springs of the usual 
Coastal Plain type, few of which are <>r especial importance. 



LANCASTER COUNTY. 215 

Wells. — Open dug wells, driven wells, and drilled wells are in use. The 
driven wells are mostly in the eastern end of the county, the drilled wells 
along inlets from Eappahannock Eiver and Chesapeake Bay. Depths of 
dug wells vary from 8 to 50 feet, of driven wells from 10 to 20 feet, and of 
drilled wells from 100 to over 500 feet. Dug wells in lowlands in the east 
end of the county are sometimes salted by high tides. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At and near Whealton artesian wells, drawing on the Calvert sands at 
240 feet below river level, supply drinking water for 200 people, and are 
claimed to have effected a marked improvement in the general health. The 
water is used not only for domestic purposes but also at a tomato canning 
plant and an oyster packing house. The wells are 1% or 2 inches in 
diameter. The flow from one well is fed to a ram with 4%-foot fall; the 
ram elevates enough water 40 feet to keep full a tank in a dwelling house. 

The following generalized record is reported : 

Record of well of Lewis-Lankford-Tull Co., Whealton. 

^ r , . , i Thickness Depth 

Material ! (Feet) (Feet) 

Sand 22 22 

Fullers earth or blue clay 192 214 

Rocks and sand, rocks one-half to two inches thick; water at 

251 feet ; 42 256 

This well has 214 feet of 1%-inch casing; the flow is given as 16 gallons 
per minute at 8 feet above the river. 

O. D. Hale, who has drilled many wells along Eappahannock Eiver, 
reports the following generalized section : 

Generalized section at Whealton. 
(Authority, O. D. Hale, driller.) 

,-, , . , Thickness | Depth 

Alatenal /ri ., ym *i 

(Feet) (Feet) 

Sand and light clay 65 65 

Fullers earth or blue clay I 70 135 

Rocks and sand, rocks y 2 inch to 6 inches thick 45 180 

Clay and sand ; 93 273 

Thin rock, with varicolored sand below, water ' 273 

Essentially the same beds are tapped by wells farther down the river 
near Monaskon. 



216 UNDERGROUND WATKR RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Near Bertrand, Millenbeck, Weems, and Irvington, perhaps 30 wells 
from 270 to 580 feet deep, have been drilled for domestic supply and other 
purposes. The wells at Bertrand, used for washing oysters and for house- 
hold supply, get water from sands in the Calvert formation about 265 feet 
below river level. The water is soft and slightly sulphur-bearing. At 
Millenbeck and Merry Point the wells reach water of about the same quality 
at 200 to 210 feet. At Weems and Irvington most people get water from 
dug wells 15 to 35 feet deep. The towns are on a terrace with maximum 
elevation of about 30 feet. The wells at Weems go through sandy loams 
and clays and find water, soft, hard, and irony, at 12 to 20 feet, in a thin 
sand bed that overlies a black mud or clay. A mile west of Weems a dug 
well found this black clay 20 feet thick. Xear the edge of the terrace at 
Irvington the dug wells, 25 to 35 feet deep, get soft water. About 70 per 
cent of the wells in the town are bricked, 20 per cent cased with tile, and 
10 per cent with wood. The recent wells are nearly all cased with tile. 
There are many driven wells in the vicinity of the town, most of them 
about 20 feet deep. Some wells close to the inlets get brackish water. 

The drilled wells near Irvington and Weems penetrate two important 
water sands, one about 330 feet below sea level in the Chesapeake group 
(Calvert formation), and the other between 200 and 210 feet deeper in the 
Panninkc'v group. The wells driven to the first sand are 1% inches in 
diameter and yield small flows, % to 2% gallons per minute, of soft, 
alkaline water having a decided sulphur odor; the head is low, possibly 
10 feet. A 3-inch well at a fish factory at Irvington and another at a 
country residence across Carters Creek from Weems get excellent water, 
under a head of about 35 feet above tide, that has no sulphur odor. The 
well at I he fish factory is said to have flowed 58 gallons per minute at an 
elevation of about 5 feet when first completed; this flow was cut down to 
about l<> gallons by screening. The water keeps well in vessels and is said 
to work well enough in a horizontal boiler, but primes in a vertical boiler. 
The well on the Francis estate had in 1906 a measured flow of about 35 
gallons per minute at 6 feet elevation. It is used for general purposes. 
Field assays of samples from several wells are given in tables 8 and 9. 

The following partial analysis of the water at a 330-foot well at the 
fish factory in Ervington was furnished. 



LANCASTER COUNTY. 21? 

Partial analysis of 330-foot well Carters Creek Fish Guano Co., 

Irvington. 
(Analyst unknown) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Calcium carbonate ( CaC0 3 ) 14 . 

Calcium sulphate ( CaS0 4 ) 4.7 

Magnesium carbonate ( MgC0 3 ) 8.4 

Sodium chloride (NaCl) 122.0 

Iron oxide (Fe 2 3 ) 12.0 

Sand, clay, etc 41.0 

Organic matter G8 . 

The prices for drilling at Irvington have varied. Some l^-inch wells 
to the first flow cost $100; the 3-inch wells to the deeper flow cost about 
$2 per foot. 

Along the river below Irvington, at Whitestone and Westland, two 
attempts to get flows resulted in failure, the drillers not having had strong 
enough rigs. Northeast of Irvington on inlets from Chesapeake Bay at 
Chase's Wharf, Ocran, and near Kilmarnock, are flowing wells that get 
water 400 to 650 feet below tide level in basal Chesapeake and Pamunkey 
or Upper Cretaceous beds. The water is used for various purposes. The 
flow near Kilmarnock, when the well was just completed, w r as given at 110 
gallons per minute through a 3-inch pipe. It supplies a fish factory. 

A 660-foot well at Ocran yields an alkaline water that is used for 
boiler and other purposes at a fish factory. A partial analysis made by the 
Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance Co., and kindly furnished by Lawford 
and McKim, of Baltimore, Md., showed each 1,000,000 parts of the water 
to contain 616 parts of total solids, which included 548 parts of readily 
soluble matter and 56 parts of silica. The soluble constituents were car- 
bonate of soda (large amount), chloride of soda (considerable), and some 
sulphate of soda and carbonate and chloride of potash. 

The following record of a well on Dimer Creek, probably at Chase's 
Wharf, has been published by Darton. a 



aDarton, N. EL, Op. cit., p. 176. 



218 UNDERGBOUND WATEK RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

Record of well on Dime?' Creel 1 . 



Material 



Tough blue clay, with 3-inch sand bed at 170 feet 



Marl with shells and gravel 

Gravel with good supply of water which rises to within 10 

feet of surface 

Blue clay 

Rock, underlain by coarse sand mixed with yellow and green 

clay 

Xo record 

(lay 

Rather coarse dark sand 

Blue clay 

Sand, fairly coarse, dark buff and white below, 7-gallon flow 

of water 

Hard rock, very rough, porous 

( 'oarse sand mixed with clay and mica, 5-gallon flow of water 

X i i record 

Rock, quite hard 

P>lue clay and sand 



'liickness Depth 
(Feet) (Feet) 



237 


237 


2 


230 


o 


241 


7 


24S 


2i/> 


250 1/> 


2 V, 


153 


132 


385 


3 


3SS 


47 


435 


8 


443 


21 


404 


10 V, 


474L. 


li/. 


476 


3 


47!) 


28% 


507% 



At Lancaster Courthouse, elevation about 75 feet, an attempt to get 
a flow some years ago naturally resulted in failure. Dug wells in the 
vicinity of the Courthouse are 30 to 60 feet deep. The following record 
of the Courthouse well has been published/' 

Record of well at Lancaster Courthouse. 



Material 



Thickness 
(Feel ) 



Bright orange sand, moderately coarse 

Gray sands, moderately coarse with shell fragments 

While and yellow sand intermixed, moderately fine 

-and moderately coarse, some glauconite grains, few 

shells and thin ferruginous crusts 

Greenish-gray fine sands, mud with some mica and many shell 

fragments, some glauconite 

(lay. light brownish-gray in color, few sandy streaks, shell 

fragments 

(lay. light greenish-gray in color 



30 
45 

40 

45 

20 

70 
50 



Depth 
(Feel) 



30 
75 

115 

100 

180 

250 
300 



Some data reported regarding the shallow wells at a number of 
are summarized i hue : 



villages 



oDarton, \. II.. I >|>. cit., y.. 170. 



MATHEWS COUNTY. 



219 



Details of shallow wells in Lancaster County. 



Location 



Alfonso . . 

Fisherman 

Litwalton 

Millenbeck 

Monaskon 

Ottoman . 



Rehoboth Church 



Depth of 
well 
(Feet) 


^Yater bed 


Quality of 
water 


24-60 
8-15 
65-70 
10-30 
10-70 
10-60 




Soft and hard 


Sand 


Brackish 

Soft 


Sand 


Poor 
Soft and hard 


Shallow, sand; 
deep, clay and rock 







Westland . 
Whitestone 



10-90 

5-15 

8-18 



Clay and sand 

Shallow, sand: 

deen. clav 



Shallow, poor; 

deep, good 

Soft or brackish 

Good, soft 



Conclusions. — While the mid-Chesapeake sands tapped by the 330-foot 
wells at Irvington can not be depended on for flows or satisfactory yields 
farther east, carefully drilled wells can get plenty of water at greater 
depths even as far east as Windmill Point. There is nothing to show that 
the water will be too highly mineralized for general rise. At points above 
Irvington where flows from the first sand have been reduced by drilling 
several wells within a small radius., more water, probably of better quality, 
can be had by going deeper. Pumping will be required to get water at 
Lancaster Courthouse from either the Chesapeake sands, about 400 feet 
below the Courthouse, or the Pamunkey sands 200 feet deeper. 



MATHEWS COUNTY. 

General description. — Mathews County ranks next above Alexandria 
County in small area and in density of population. It occupies the 
peninsula between Pianketank Eiver, Chesapeake and Mob jack bays, and 
has an extremely irregular outline. There are many villages but no incor- 
porated towns. 

The surface of Mathews County is monotonously level, nearly all of it 
lying within the Talbot plain. 0. From a maximum elevation of about 30 
feet near the Gloucester County line the surface gradually slopes east and 
south to tide level. Along the eastern shores wide stretches of salt marsh 
fringe the inlets, and the surface slopes so gradually below sea level that 
heavy easterly gales drive the bay water .far inland. 



a-The writer believes that most of the surface of Mathews County forms part of 
a terrace that is to be correlated with the Pamlico terrace of Xorth Carolina. 



220 [JNDEEGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Geology. — In the northwest part of the county gray Chesapeake sands 
of the St. Mary's formation are here and there exposed in the bluffs along 
Pianketank Kiver; elsewhere in the county only Columbia or Recent 
material is visible. Xear the west side of the county yellow buff and 
reddish loams, seen in road cuts and ditches, overlie more sandy beds. 
Eastward these bright-colored loams grow thinner and disappear, the sands 
become marly, and along the bay front mud and marl predominate. Xear 
Port Haywood and elsewhere, dark, ill-smelling mud containing tree roots 
is found at depths of 15 to 25 feet and deeper, and the thickness of 
Columbia material may be 50 feet. 

The bottom of the Chesapeake lies 500 to 600 feet below the surface, 
and the bottom of the Pamunkey 100 feet deeper. Evidence as to the 
presence of the Upper Cretaceous is lacking, and nothing is known of the 
Potomac. Crystalline bed rock is probably 2,000 feet below the surface. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Extent and character. — Because of the slight elevation and the nature 
of the beds the abundant shallow waters in the Columbia sands are not 
satisfactory at many points in the county, being high-colored, ill-smelling, 
and even brackish. In the western part of the county near North River 
dug and driven wells go through a foot of soil, 12% feet of "yellow" clay, 
and 4 feet of red clay, finding water in sand below. On ground 20 feet or 
more high, the water is soft and sweet, while on flats the water is poor. 
Many of the shallow wells on higher ground go dry in times of drought. 
Waters from sands at a depth of 100 feet or so vary in quality and in the 
yield to driven or drilled wells; in places these sands afford plenty of ex- 
cellent water, in places they supply but little, and this is irony or otherwise 
objectionable. 

Artesian waters under heads sufficient to give surface flows underlie 
most of the county, but those so far found are not satisfactory. The Chesa- 
peake and Pamunkey, beds which afford such abundant supplies in counties 
to the west, apparently are too fine-grained under Mathews County to 
transmit water readily; the waters are under lower head and are more 
sulphur-bearing and irony. 

Springs. — Except in the western part of the county there are few 
springs large enough to be used for household supply. At Dixie, on 
Pianketank Eiver, however, several seeps and springs emerge from a bluff 
of loam and sand. Their total volume is problematical, but two flows, one 
about 10 feet above the other, caughl by wood basins, supply a saw-mill and 



MATHEWS COUNTY. 221 

a tomato canning factory on the shore below. The water is soft, free from 
iron, and works well in a boiler. Near Hudgins are two springs used for 
domestic supply and for stock. One owned by X. C. Miller is said to be 
used by neighbors when their wells go dry. 

Wells.* — There are many driven wells in the county, conditions favoring 
their use. In places, however, the fine sands of the water-bed clog pipes 
and cut the valves of pumps, and dug wells are favored. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Mathews most of the water is from dug wells 8 to 12 feet deep, 
which, as the surface elevation is about 6 feet, seldom go dry, though wells 
close to the river get brackish after unusually high tides. Some of these 
wells are liable to pollution by surface drainage. 

Besides the dug and driven wells there are a few cisterns in the village. 
Several attempts to get artesian water at the Courthouse have not resulted 
satisfactorily. The last well found water between 100 and 150 feet, and, 
according to the driller, a stronger flow at 817 feet. The water has a head 
of only 6 feet, and the yield in September, 1906, was 1 gallon per minute 
at an elevation of 4 feet. The water has a decided sulphur odor and is 
little used. The flow is said to have nearly ceased during the summer of 
1905. The low head, the temperature, and the quality of the flow, as shown 
by the field assay in table 11, indicate that much of the water may come 
from the higher sands of the Chesapeake rather than from Potomac strata. 

Near Port Haywood several drilled wells have found at about 100 feet 
water that is considered soft, and is used for household purposes or for 
boiler supply. It comes from sands high in the Chesapeake group. 

Over much of the county, dug wells fill nearly to the top in wet weather. 
Where the water is high in iron, ill-smelling or salty, cisterns are much 
used. On Gwynn's Island, where about 600 people live, wells average only 
7 to 9 feet deep. 

Particulars regarding dug and driven wells at a number of places are 
thus summarized: 



222 (M'l RGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Details of dug wells in Mathews County. 




A 70-foot driven well at Port Haywood entered ''blue mud and shells" 
at about 20 feet and struck "soft rock" at 40 feet, but found no water 
worth mentioning. A driven well 110 feet deep at Fitchett's found water 
too salty for use. The pipe was pulled back to 50 feet and water was ob- 
tained that though a little brackish could be used in a boiler. 

Conclusions. — While the Chesapeake beds under eastern Mathews 
County are apparently fine and clayey, small flows of hard or iron-bearing 
water may be had from discontinuous sand beds near I he top of the group. 
The prospects of obtaining water of good quality from the Pamunkev beds 
or below at points east of Mathews Courthouse are doubtful: the odds favor 
highly mineralized water containing salt, iron and sulphur. ^ear the 
Gloucester County line prospects are much better. 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 

General description. — Middlesex County, formed from Lancaster in 
L875, lies on the soutli bank of Rappahannock River, near its mouth, and 
nort li of Pianketank River. 

The topography is diversified. The Sunderland terrace, elevation 90 
to lid feet, forms the divide between "Rappahannock and Pianketank 
rivers, and is deeply tut by creeks flowing to the Rappahannock. Along 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 223 

this river a bold scarp marks the drop from the Sunderland to the Talbot 
terrace, and at the east the Wicomico terrace terminates in the scarp that 
is traceable across the counties south to the North Carolina line. In 
Middlesex, as in Essex County, to the northwest projecting headlands of 
the highest terrace give magnificent views of Eappahannock Eiver valley. 
Geology.- — The Columbia loams, clayey and bright-colored on the high 
terraces, and of subdued tints along the low terraces, mantle the surface. 
ISTo beds older than those of the Chesapeake group (Miocene) outcrop any- 
where in the county. Shell beds and gray sands of the St. Mary's forma- 
tion are exposed beneath Columbia sands in low bluffs along Eappahannock 
Eiver and in the gorges of the larger creeks. The Chesapeake-Pamunkey 
contact lies at about 300 feet below sea level at the northwest end of the 
county, and about 600 feet below at Stingray Point. The thickness of the 
Pamunkey may be 100 to 150 feet. It is probable that marine Cretaceous 
beds underlie mosc of the county, but they can not be sharply differentiated 
on the evidence of such well records as are available. There are no records 
of wells sunk to Potomac beds, but it is likely that at Urbanna the top of 
the Potomac group is over 800 feet below sea level. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — Both the Columbia formations and the top- 
most beds of the Chesapeake contain ground water. The quality shows the 
usual variations. The artesian waters in the lower Chesapeake and in the 
Pamunkey sands are soft, but as a rule more highly mineralized than in 
Essex County. East of Urbanna the Chesapeake and Pamunkey water beds 
become gradually finer, the heads of the flows decrease and the minerali- 
zation of the water increases. A characteristic of the Chesapeake flows 
along Eappahannock Eiver is a decided sulphur odor; this soon disap- 
pears, but makes the water when fresh from the well offensive to some 
persons. The deeper flows seem freer from sulphur. The heads of the 
different flows show local variations, but as far east as Urbanna properly 
driven wells, where there is no interference, yield waters from basal Chesa- 
peake (Calvert) beds that rise 15 feet above mean high tide; the Pamunkey 
flows rise 10 feet higher. 

Springs. — Along the gorges of the creeks that flow into Eappahannock 
Eiver, near the foot of the Sunderland scarp, and in Pianketank Eiver 
valley, there are many springs. Some are of considerable size, flowing 10 
gallons or more per minute. A few are used for household supply. Xone 
is of commercial importance. 



224 UNDEKGEOUND WATER EESOURCES OF COASTAL FLAIX PROVINCE. 

At the head of a small rim on the old Fanntleroy place near Saluda, 
now owned by J. ('. Gray, several springs issne from above dark sandy clay, 
or from marl beds, belonging to the Chesapeake group. Part of the flow 
of the highest spring supplies a ram that forces water to a tank in the 
house, oOO feet distant. 

Another spring that gushes from a marl bed on a steep slope to Pianke- 
tank River, at the residence of J. E. Blakey, 3 miles southwest of Saluda. 
supplies the house and barn by means of a ram. 

Wells. — Dug wells, the chief source of water supply, vary greatly in 
depth. Most of them have no lining except plank near the bottom; a few are 
bricked, and a few cased with tile. In places along the lowest terrace there 
are drilled and driven wells, nearly all of small diameter. Dug wells, 
bricked, have been completed for 40 cents per foot. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

Urbanna in 1906 had no public waterworks, but water from a number 
of artesian wells was given away by the owners to all persons desiring it. 
A well intended to supply water for a distribution system was drilled to a 
depth of 590 feet. The record is of interest as the well is one of the few 
that have been drilled below 500 feet in this part of the Coastal Plain. 

Record of waterworks well. Urban no. 
(Authority. E. H. Milligan, driller.) 



Material 



( 'lav, sand, and gravel 

Marl 

Hard, bluish black clay 

Sand, very lighl How of sulphur Mater, (low not tested 



loci 



Marl 

Thin rocks, to 8 inches thick, in marl 

White chalky deposit, ■■neither sand nor clay" 
Maria ' 



Jilni^h clay 

White sand, very light How of sulphur-bearing water 

Coarse graj sand and white gravel 

Eard Band, no water 

Bluish clay 

Sand, water-bearing, How small but not tested 

Marl 



Eard red clay, '"red as paint" 

Sufter pink and brownish clay which caved easily 

White loose Band with thill crusts, Band often in little halls 

easily crushed by fingers, no clay-, good How of water, 

volume not tested 



42 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet ) 


(Feet) 


25 


25 


175 


200 


20 


220 


IS 


23 S 


1 


23!) 


21 


200 


30 


200 


2 


202 


10S 


400 


45 


445 


3 


448 


7 


155 


10 


405 


27 


402 


S 


500 


22 


522 


IS 


540 


7 


547 



539 



ma il. 



oBones and small teeth are reported to have been struck at 400 feet in blue 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



225 



This well went through both Miocene and Eocene into Upper Creta- 
ceous beds. The quality of the water from the last flow is said to have been 
excellent. The well, when seen by the writer, was flowing 3 gallons per 
minute from the sand at 492 feet ; the bottom flow had been shut off by 
the clay beds caving. 

A well near by passed through the following strata, according to the 
driller : 

Record of well of G. W. Hurley, Urbanna. 
(Authority. R. H. Milligan, driller.) 



Material 



Soil, sand, and clay 

Black mud 

Marl 



Rock 

Coarse sand, flow of sulphur water, volume not tested, possibly 
1 gallon per minute at surface 

Soft marl, shelly at top 

Light marl, containing thin layers of rock , 

Green marl 

Black sand, not water-bearing, and marl 

Soft blue clay 

Sand, water-bearing; flow not tested 

Rock ( 

Sand containing bits of lignite, water-bearing; flow at 3 feetj 
above high tide 105 gallons per minute through a 3-inch I 
pipe, head over 30 feet ; 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet ) 


25 


25 


100 


125 


06 


221 


2 


223 


7 


230 


40 


270 


15 


285 


5 


290 


30 


320 


132 


452 


1 


453 


1 


454 



9? 



476 



The water from this well, together with that from several wells tapping 
the sulphur water at 225 feet, is used at an ice plate. It is said to work 
better in a boiler than the water from the 225-foot wells, having less 
tendency to foam. Like practically all the deep artesian waters of the Vir- 
ginia mainland, it contains little volatile organic matter, and hence makes 
excellent ice. 

Other flowing wells at Urbanna are said to range in depth from 227 to 
290 feet, but probably draw on sands 220 to 235 feet below high tide level. 
One of the shallowest, that of O. A 7 . Wagenen, was sunk by the owner in 
less than a day, no rock being encountered. The flow at first was 5 gallons 
per minute, but had fallen to about 2 gallons in 1906. The water is used 
at a canning factory. The well of the Urbanna Manufacturing Co. is worthy 
of note as it is used to supply the cottages of employees, the water being 
pumped to an elevated tank. The depth of this well could not be ascer- 
tained, but the water has a decided sulphur odor and probably comes from 
the sand at 220 to 235 feet. Field assays of samples from various wells at 
Urbanna are given in tables 8 and 10. 



16 



226 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Above ITrbanna, along Rappahannock River, artesian wells have been 
drilled at Bayporr and several other places. The reported depths of the 
Bayport wells vary from 260 to 300 feet, and the water probably comes 
from Calvert, basal Chesapeake, sands. The water is used for domestic 
purposes and for washing oysters. The following generalized section is 
reported : 

Record of ivell of Bland Brothers, Bayport. 
(Authority, 0. D. Hale, driller.) 

^. r , . , Thickness Depth 

Material (Feef) (Fee() 

Sand 24 24 

"Fullers earth" or blue clay 176 200 

Alternating strata of rock and sand, rock layers from % inch 

to 10 inches thick, water at 242 feet ' 48 248 

The well has 218 feet of 1%-inch casing. The reported flow is 16 
gallons per minute at 7 feet above Rappahannock River. 

A driven well at Sandy Bottom, in the east end of the county, found 
water in deep Columbia beds. The following record is reported : 

Record of 78-foot driven well of D. A. Taylor, Sandy Bottom. 
(Authority, D. A. Tavlor. owner.) 



Material 



Depth 
(Feet) 



No record 

Old wood and shells, blue mud 

White sand 

Blue mud 

Gravel, principal water bed . . 
Blue mud 




Dug wells in Middlesex County, as previously noted, differ greatly in 
depth and in quality of supplies. Wells on high ground near a terrace 
edge go deep, usually yield soft water, and seldom if ever, go dry; while 
wells away from the terrace edge are shallower and more liable to go dry. 
Many wells go through the Columbia sands and get hard water from the 
Chesapeake shell beds. Conditions reported from various places in the 
country are briefly summarized thus: 



itfANSEMOND COUNTY. 



227 



Details of dug wells in Middlesex County. 



Location 

Bntylo 

Church View 

Dew 

Freeshade 

Enoch 

Lot 

Ruark 

Saluda 

Streets 

Urbanna 

Warner 

Waterview 

Wilton 



Depth 

(Feet) 



40-60 
20-50 
15-45 
12-40 
10-16 
16-35 
10-35 

40-55 
22-60 

18-30 
8-32 

15-60 

15-60 



Water bed 



Sand and clay 

Sand 
Sand and marl 

Sand 
Sand 
Clay 

Marl and red clay 

Sand 

Marl 

Red clay 

Shallow, sand ; 

deep, rocks. 
Shallow, sand, 

deep, rocks. 



Quality of 
water 



Good 

Fair to good 

Hard or irony 

Fair 

Hard 

Soft to hard 

Shallow, poor ; 

deep, good. 

Hard and soft 

Soft 

Hard, brackish 

Shallow, poor : 

deep, good. 

Fair to good 

Fair to good 



Conclusions. — Over most of Middlesex County dug wells will remain 
the chief source of supply because of the cost of developing the artesian 
sands. Plenty of soft alkaline water can be had from the latter, and if the 
higher sands at any point yield insufficient flows better yields can be had 
by going deeper. From none of the sands are heads of more than 35 feet 
above tide to be expected. Hence wells of sufficient diameter to permit the 
use of deep well pumps will be required to supply villages on high ground. 
At Saluda, elevation about 75 feet, flows are impossible; the water will 
rise to about 40 feet of surface. 



NANSEMOND COUNTY. 

General description. — Nansemond County lies south of James Eiver 
near its mouth, and extends from the river to the North Carolina line. The 
surface of the county is rather even, except for the abrupt descents to 
creeks and inlets in the northern part of the county, and for the scarp that 
separates the low ground, in which lies the Dismal Swamp, from the higher 
ground to the west. The principal stream is Nansemond Eiver, a branch 
of James Eiver. Jones Creek also flows into the James. Most of the 
southern part of the county drains to Blackwater Eiver, while the south- 
eastern is included within the Dismal Swamp. Much of the surface is part 
of the Wicomico plain, at elevations between 60 and 90 feet. The abrupt 
scarp separating the Wicomico from a lower terrace extends from the North 
Carolina line northward past Suffolk and Chuckatuck. Lake Drummond. 



228 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

pari of which is in Nansemond County, has an elevation of 22 feet above 
sea level. 

Geology. — Over nearly the whole county the Columbia sands and loams 
arc the only beds that can be seen. North of Suffolk, along the banks of 
Nansemond River and its branches, the underlying dark greenish or bluish 
sandy clays of the Chesapeake, often filled with shells, are exposed in many 
places. 

In the eastern portion of the county thick beds of mud and sand, which 
contain shell marl, have been cut by the canals leading to Lake Drummond. 
These beds, as shown by their fossils, are of Pleistocene age. and arc in- 
cluded in the Columbia group. 

Other formations, belonging to the Pamunkey, Upper Cretaceous, and 
Potomac groups, underlie the Chesapeake hut are known only from the 
records of deep wells. The base of the Chesapeake is :>50 to 500 feet below 
surface, and the base of the Pamunkey lies 450 to 600 feet deep. 

D XDERGROrXI) WATERS. 

Extent an'/ distribution. — The water table throughout most of the 
southern and eastern parts of the county lies very near surface, and in wet 
weal her many wells are full to overflowing. The supplies are generally soft, 
but because of the liability of pollution are not highly valued. In the 
northern and western parts of the county where the land lies higher, many 
wells near the edges of terraces are 30 feet deep or more. The supplies 
obtained are generally soft. Artesian waters underlie the whole county 
and attempts to get flows have been made at a number of places, but the 
only artesian wells in use in 1906 were at Suffolk and Everets. At the 
former place water is obtained from sandy beds high in the Upper Creta- 
ceous; at the latter place from beds of sand and gravel near the top of the 
Chesapeake. The Upper Cretaceous water is soft and alkaline, the Chesa- 
peake is less mineralized. Artesian water has been reported found near 
Ohuckatuck. but no particulars as to quality are available. 

Springs. —Springs are not especially abundant in Xansemond County, 
although there are some along the branches of dames and Blackwater rivers. 
None of commercial importance has been reported. A spring of good How. 
known as the Buckhorn, one-half mile north of Windsor, yields iron-bear- 
ing water. 

Wells. Though there arc ;i considerable number of driven wells in the 
county, dug wells are far more plentiful. There were in 1906 not over L5 



NANSEMOND COUNTY. 229 

drilled wells in use. The dug wells are usually lined with wood, and, on 
wide, flat stretches where water is close to surface and surface drainage is 
defective, are not ideal sources of supply. The driven wells and nearly all 
the drilled wells are of small diameter. They are much preferable to the 
dug wells, and when conditions are favorable, that is, where the water lies 
in soft sand close to surface, driven wells with pitcher pumps attached 
cost but $5 or $6. The cost of drilled wells depends on their depth and 
diameter; 2-inch wells near Everets were sunk under contract for $1 per 
foot to depths of 50 feet or more. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

Suffolk is supplied with water from Lake Kilby, which in 1906 was 
distributed by the Portsmouth, Berkeley and Suffolk Water Co. A sum- 
mary of the supply system is given on page 77. 

Various manufacturing concerns use or have used water from dug 
wells. This is hard and of indifferent quality for boiler supply as it forms 
scale, and the use of a softening plant or of boiler compounds is necessary. 
Up to the time of the field work for this report attempts to get artesian 
water at Suffolk had, with one exception, been failures. This was not 
because artesian water can not be had but because the wells did not go 
deep enough. There is a great thickness, probably not less than 300 feet, 
of Chesapeake sandy clay underlying Suffolk, in which there seem to be no 
beds that yield water freely. The successful well, that of the Xorfolk & 
Portsmouth Traction Co., is reported to be 803 feet deep. Possibly it 
might have obtained water enough at a higher level, but the drillers were 
seeking a flow (an impossible undertaking as the elevation of the well is 
63 feet), and continued drilling. The yield is small and the well has given 
more or less trouble ever since its completion. Apparently the water- 
bearing sand is fine. The water rises to 33 feet of surface and a deep well 
pump obtains 11 gallons per minute. The water is said to work well in a 
boiler if not allowed to become too concentrated, and to be good for ice- 



230 UNDEBGBOUND WATER KESOUECES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

The following analysis shows its softness, low lime content, and 
alkalinity; the chief substance in solution undoubtedly is bicarbonate of 
soda. 

Analysis of water from deep well of Norfolk & Portsmouth Traction Co., 

Suffolk. 
(First Scientific Station for the Art of Brewing, analyst.) 

Parts per 1 ,000,000 

Total residue 596 . 

Loss by calcination 20 . 

Residue after calcination 576 . 

Iron ( Fe ) large traces 

Lime (CaO) 4.0 

Magnesia ( MgO ) 2.9 

Carbonate of soda (NsuCO,) 493 . 

Chlorine (CI) 23.0 

Nitrate radicle (N0 3 ) 0.0 

Nitrite radicle (N0 2 ) 0.0 

Free ammonia 0.0 

Albumenoid ammonia 0.0 

Oxygen required . 02 

Total hardness 128 . 

Deep wells north of Suffolk. — A group of artesian wells has been sunk 
near Everets, on Everets Creek. Some are just at the foot of the Wicomico 
scarp and their heads, as they are of shallow depth, little over 50 feet, are 
due to the level of the water in the Wicomico plain to the west. In 1906, 
there Avere about 8 of these wells, the deepest being down 110 feet. The 
heads range from -4 to 10 feet above the creek, which is tidal. The follow- 
ing record of one of the wells shows the general character of the beds over- 
lying the water-bearing sand: 

Record of well of T. J. Saunders, Everets. 
(Authority, T. J. Saunders, owner.) 

, r , . , | Thickness Depth 

Material (Feef) (F / et) 

( Hayey soil on marl j S 8 

Blue marl, with few shells 1<» 24 

Black sand, with hard layers or "rocks" 2 20 

Blue sand, lighter colored at base 28 54 

While sand ' 30 S4 

Efforts to find the same flow farther southeast have not been success- 
ful ; the water-bearing sand probably thins out or becomes clayey, though 
as the sand dips to the oast it is barely possible that the wells did not go 



NEW KENT COUNTY. 



231 



deep enough. At Eeids Ferry, on Everets Creek, 5 miles southeast of 
Everets, a 150-foot well sunk for the Nansemond River Brick and Tile Co. 
did not find water, nor did a well 188 feet deep, a mile east of Chuckatuck, 
which when the driller stopped work was in black and white sand. A 
later and deeper well east of Chuckatuck is reported to have found a flow. 
The general character of the flows at Everets is shown by the field assay in 
table 7b. 

Shallow well conditions near various villages in the county are sum- 
marized in the following table, most of the data being obtained from post- 
masters. 

Details of dug wells in Nansemond County. 



Location 




Water bed 



Quality of water 



Cleapur ' 16-90 

Copeland 10-25 

Hobson 16 

Holland 10-34 

Savage Crossing 8-30 



Valeria 



Shallow, sand ; 
deep, clay. 
Sand 
Blue mud 
Sand 
Shallow, sand ; 
deep, blue marl 
and "black dirt." 
Shallow, sand ; 
deep, clay. 



Shallow, soft ; 

deep, hard. 

Soft 

-Soft 

Soft 

Shallow, poor ; 

deep, good. 

Shallow, poor ; 
deep, good. 



Conclusions. — There is undoubtedly plenty of artesian water under 
Nansemond County, but conditions are not so favorable for free flows of 
good water as in counties to the west. The upper Chesapeake sands are 
patchy and their limits can be determined only by drilling. The sands 
lower in the Chesapeake, and those in the Pamunkey, are uncertain water- 
bearers, but may yield flows with heads of 30 feet above tide through wells 
carefully drilled and screened. The quality of all the artesian waters 
deteriorates toward the east and near James River, and in the northeast 
corner of the county the deep flows may be too mineralized for domestic 
or industrial purposes. 

NEW KENT COUNTY. 

General description. — New Kent County, formed in 1654 from York 
County, lies between Chickahominy and Pamunkey rivers. 

The topography is much like that of Charles City County. The highest 
of the terraces, the Sunderland, has an undulating surface sharply cut by 
stream valleys. Its greatest elevation is 140 feet. The Wicomico plain is 
developed along Pamunke} r River, as is the lower Talbot, the latter com- 



232 UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

prising much of the land embraced in the wide meanders of the river. 
Both Chickahominy and Pamunkey rivers have few tributaries rising- in 
the county; the largest of these, Diascond Creek, empties into the Chicka- 
hominy and forms part of the eastern boundary of the county. The divide 
between Chickahominy and Pamunkey waters crosses the northern part of 
the county. New Kent Courthouse being on it. 

Geology. — Columbia loams mantle the surface. On neither Chicka- 
hominy nor Pamunkey rivers are Pamunkey (Eocene) beds exposed, the 
highest formation visible below being the St. Mary's formation of the 
Chesapeake (Miocene) group. Its dark, greenish sandy clays are exposed 
along stream gullies and in bluffs on the south side of Pamunkey and York 
rivers. The base of the Calvert formation of the Chesapeake group lies 
a hove tide level along the western boundary of the county and 180 feet 
below at Plumpoint. The base of the Pamunkey lies possibly 200 feet 
below tide water in the western side of the county, and 35.0 feet below in 
the east. Whether Upper Cretaceous (Matawan) beds extend as far west 
as the eastern side of the county is doubtful. Unquestionably, there is a 
considerable thickness, possibly over 600 feet of Potomac (Lower Creta- 
ceous) beds above bed rock. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and (/utility. — New Kent County is well watered. Nu- 
merous rills and creeks are fed by springs. The ground water in the sands 
of the Columbia formations is generally abundant and soft. The artesian 
sands in the Pamunkey group carry plenty of soft water that gives flows 
up to 26 feet above tide. The Calvert sands at the base of the Chesapeake 
yield light Hows in the eastern part of the county, and, if reports are to be 
trusted, in the Chickahominy valley as far west as Roxbury. Little is 
known of the Potomac waters, but they are undoubtedly abundant and gen- 
erally good. 

Springs. — There arc many springs in the county, some of which have 
attracted notice by reason of their size or the quality of their waters. A 
few arc used for domestic supply and one or two arc thought to have 
medicinal value. A spring, or .-hallow well, 3 miles north of Talleysville, 
How- aboul 1 gallon per minute of water that has been sold as Belmont 
Lithia water. The water comes from marl, and the chief substance in solu- 
tion is bicarbonate of lime. The appended analysis, furnished \)y the 
proprietor, R. E. Richardson of Talleysville, has been recalculated to parts 
per. L,000,000. 



NEW KENT COUNTY. 

Analysis of Belmont Lithid water. 

(W. H. Taylor, analyst.) 



Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 221 . 

Calcium bicarbonate ( CaH, ( C0 3 ) 2 ) 135 . 

Ferrous bicarbonate ( FetX, ( C0 3 ) 2 ) 15 . 

Magnesium bicarbonate ( MgH 2 ( CC\ ) ■,) 11. 

Manganese bicarbonate ( MnH 2 ( C0 3 ) ■_. ) 0.5 

Sodium bicarbonate (XaEC0 3 ) 15. 

Lithium bicarbonate ( LiHC O,) 0.1 

Sodium chloride ( NaCl ) 3.4 

Potassium chloride ( KC1) 1.2 

Ammonium cbloride ( NH 4 C1 ) trace 

Potassium sulphate ( K.,S0 4 ) 6.3 

Calcium phosphate (Ca,(P0 4 ),) 0.6 

« Calcium nitrate ( Ca f N0 3 ) ..) trace 

Alumina ( AU) 3 ) 0.1 

Silica ( SiO,) 33 . 

Sulphuretted hydrogen (IPS) 0.88 cubic inches per imperial gallon. 

Wells. — Dug wells, usually cased with wood, are practically the sole 
source of water supply on the higher terraces. On the lower terraces are 
some driven wells. The drilled wells are practically confined to the low 
ground along Pamunkey and Chickahominy rivers. Nearly all are of small 
diameter; the depths reported range from 150 to 260 feet. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

More wells have been driven at Plumpoint than at any other place in 
the county. They all draw on the Calvert, basal Chesapeake, sands reached 
by the 165-foot wells at West Point, and yield water of the same quality. 
Heads are about 20 feet above mean high tide. Above Plumpoint at 
Whitehouse possibly 10 wells have been driven, all of which draw on the 
same beds, basal Pamunkey, as the wells at Lester Manor in King William 
County. The heads range up to 35 feet above mean high tide. The flows, 
where proper care has been taken in casing, equal the average of Pamunkey 
wells of equal diameter, being about 5 gallons per minute. 

The following generalized record of a well at Whitehouse was pub- 
lished by Darton : a 



"Darton, N. H.. Op. cit., p. 174. 



234 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Record of well at Whitehouse. 

i Authority. P. PI. Sweet, driller. 



Material 



Soil 

Yellow clay 

Blue fullers earth 

Several thin rock strata, one 18 inches thick 

Soft sand rock 

Red clay 

Greensand marl (?) 

Black sand : water at 210 feet 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet ) 


15 


15 


10 


25 


40 


65 


5 


70 


25 


05 


20 


115 


50 


165 


45 


210 



Along Chickahominy River wells have been sunk at Providence Forge 
and near Windsor Shades (Boulevard P. O.). Xo records were kept of 
any of these wells, but all obtain water from practically the same horizon 
in the Pamunkey. At Providence Forge several wells have been drilled; 
one owned by Col. E. B. Townsend is 216 feet deep, and flows 10 gallons 
per minute at an elevation of 20 feet above sea level. A field assay of the 
water is given in table 9. Another well, that of R. E. Richardson, is 215 
feet deep; it flowed at first but later had to be pumped. The loss of flow 
is explained by insufficient casing. 

The well at Boulevard is probably the finest in the county. It is 260 
feet deep, 4% inches in diameter, and flows 52 gallons per minute at an 
elevation of 22 feet above mean high tide. This large flow is probably due 
not so much to the diameter of the well as to the character of the water 
bed, which, according to report, was a gravelly sand, whereas at Providence 
Forge the water bed is finer textured. An analysis of the water from the 
well at Boulevard appears in table 9. The water is noteworthy for the small 
proportion of mineral matter it contains. 

For the supply of temporary saw-mills dug wells are used. In 11)06, 
there were possibly a dozen such mills in the county, obtaining water from 
wells 25 to 50 feet deep. Information regarding dug wells at a number 
of villages is given in the following summary: 

Details of dug wells in New Kent County. 



Location 




Barhamville 



12-30 



Dasli 
Oak 



1 8-60 
. 20-00 



Plumpoini 10-15 

Providence Forge ; 10-50 

runstall 10 20 



Quality of 
water 



Loam and marl Shallow, soft; 
deep, slightly 



Iron crusts, sand 

S h a 1 1 o w, loam ; 

deep, clay. 

Sand and gravel 

S h a 1 1 o w, loam ; 

deep, marl 
Sh a 11 o w. clay; 
deep. marl. 



hard. 

Hard 

Soft 

Hard 

S h a 1 1 o w. fair; 
deep. good. 
Soft and hard 



NORFOLK COUNTY. 235 

Conclusions. — To properly cased wells the Pamunkey sands will furnish 
supplies far in excess of present draughts. The Potomac group un- 
doubtedly contains numerous sands that will yield ample flows with heads 
of 30 feet or more, and recourse can be had to them in case the head of the 
Pamunkey waters at any place is lowered by the interference of wells 
drilled too closely or allowed to flow without restraint. 

NORFOLK COUNTY. 

General description.- — Norfolk County, formed in 1697 from Lower 
Norfolk, extends from the mouth of James Eiver southward to the North 
Carolina line. In or near Norfolk are many large manufacturing estab- 
lishments and no less than five railroads have terminals on Elizabeth Eiver. 

Almost all the surface of the county forms part of the Talbot terrace, 
which has a maximum elevation of about 25 feet, hence there are wide 
expanses of practically level ground and considerable swamp land. Most of 
the swamp is in the southwestern part of the county, and is part of the great 
Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina. The surface of this swamp 
slopes slightly to the northeast and southeast from the foot of the Wicomico- 
Talbot scarp which forms its western boundary. Lake Drummond, the 
onty considerable body of fresh water in the State of Virginia, is near the 
center of this swamp. Its surface is 22 feet above tide level. The principal 
streams, Elizabeth Eiver and North Eiver, are shallow inlets which head in 
marshy creeks ; Elizabeth Eiver empties into James Eiver and North Eiver 
into Currituck Sound. 

Geology. — The vari-colored loams of the Talbot formation are exposed 
here and there in shallow road cuts, and except for swamps or marshy 
tracts and strips of dune sand the Talbot loams form the soils. Below lie 
soft blue clays and bluish sands containing here and there beds of marine 
shells of Pleistocene age. The Talbot varies in thickness from 5 feet to 
perhaps 75 feet; it can not, by available well records, be sharply differen- 
tiated from the topmost beds of the Chesapeake group (Miocene). The 
maximum thickness of the Chesapeake group is not less than 600 feet. The 
topmost formation of the Chesapeake contains water-bearing beds which 
have been found by driven or drilled wells of moderate depth. The lower 
formations of the Chesapeake seem to have few beds coarse enough to con- 
vey water readily. The relations of the Chesapeake to the underlying 
Pamunkey, and the evidence of the deep wells, are discussed elsewhere (see 
page 97 et seq.). 



236 UNDEK6K0UND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The chief sources of domestic water supply 
in Xorfolk County are the gravels and sands in the Talbot formation, from 
5 to 50 feet below surface. The water from the shallow beds at most places 
is soft, but at many is iron-bearing; and at some, near bodies of salt water, 
is brackish. The deeper beds give hard water which in some places is iron 
bearing. The discontinuous sand beds in the upper portion of the Chesa- 
peake yield supplies that are, as a rule, iron-bearing and hard, in fact too 
highly mineralized for general domestic use. 

Springs. — There are in Xorfolk County comparatively few springs, but 
three have been developed on a commercial scale. Two, the White Oak and 
Landale, front inlets from Mason's Creek, 5 to o 1 /^ miles north of Xorfolk. 
They yield soft, clear water from the Talbot sands. The output has been 
sold in Xorfolk. At the Landale Spring the water issues from the sands 
just above tide level, and comes from some distance below the surface. The 
flow varies slightly with stages of the tide. The spring is some distance 
from the nearest house and the sanitary conditions, when the spring was 
inspected, were excellent. The following analysis, recalculated to express 
results in standard form, was furnished by the owner. W. J. Land. 

Analysis of Landale Mineral Spring water. 

(Henry Froehling, analyst.) 

Parts per 1.000.000 

Total solids 87 . 

Silica (SiO..) 5.3 

Iron ( Fe ) . 00 

Aluminum (Al) 0. IS 

( alciuni ( ( 'a ) 5.8 

Magnesium ( Mg) 2.5 

Sodium ( Xa ) 14 . 

Pot ass iu in ( K ) 1.3 

Lithium (Li) 0.01 

Iodine (I) 0.009 

Bromine | Br) trace 

Manganese ( Mn i trace 

Arsenic ( As ) trace 

Bicarbonate radicle i HC0 3 ) ' 9.2 

Sulphate radicle (S0 4 ) '. 28. 

Nitrate radicle (N0 8 ) 5.5 

Chlorine (CI) 13. 

The While Oak Spring is situated near the Landale, and the water 
probably conies from the same horizon. The following analysis, which has 
been recalculated, was furnished by the company putting the water on the 

market. 



NORFOLK COUNTY. 237 

Analysis of White Oak Mineral water. 
(W. H. Taylor, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Silica (Si0 2 ) 5.4 

Iron ( Fe ) trace 

Calcium ( Ca ) 21.0 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 2.8 

Sodium (Na) 14.0 

Potassium ( K ) 3 . G 

Bicarbonate radicle ( HC0 3 ) 55 . 

Sulphate radicle (SOJ 29.0 

Chlorine (CI) 15.0 

Another spring, owned by Joseph Freitas, on Mason^s Creek about l 1 /^ 
miles cine west of the two springs mentioned, has shipped water from time 
to time. 

Wells. — There are probably more driven wells in Norfolk County than 
in any other county in Virginia. Most of them are shallow, going to the 
first water-bearing sand. There are many dug wells, most of which are 
not over 15 feet deep, and a few drilled wells. In some places cisterns are 
used. The more important deep wells have been mentioned on pages 97 
to 116. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

The city of Norfolk is supplied with water by three distributing systems 
owned by the city, the Norfolk County Water Co., and the Portsmouth, 
Berkeley & Suffolk Co. The size, capacity, and general equipment of 
the different supply system are described on pages 75-81. 

In the outskirts of the city are many driven wells. G-. B. Todd of 
Norfolk, who has driven a large number, states that east of Elizabeth Biver 
in Norfolk County are two water beds; one at 10 to 15 feet, yields water 
that is generally soft but is irony in places; and the second at 35 to 100 
feet, yields water that is generally harder and is irony at a few places. The 
following records, furnished by Mr. Todd, show the character of the Talbot 
beds of the Columbia group. 

Record of test-boring, corner of Brooke Avenue and Brush Street, Nor foil'. 

^ r , . A I Thickness ! Depth 

Material /n , , /IT r . , 

(Feet) (Feet) 

Made ground ( 4 4 

Moist sand ; 3% 7% 

Mud with some sand i 7 14V 1 

Mud ■ • • | 6i/o 21 

Yellow clay and mud ; 7 28 

Soft mud * I 8 36 

Fine sand 2 38 

This well was driven on made ground, formerly a marsh. 



238 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Record of test-boring on Reeves Avenue at river bank, Norfolk. 

Material I ™c k » ess jj^j 



(Feet) 



(Feet) 



Made ground I S 1 /^, 3^2 

Gray sand, water-bearing I 8% 12 

Yellow sand, almost dry 11 23 

Blackish mud, very soft, mixed with fine sand 17 40 

Solid coarse sand, water-bearing 40 

At Lambert Point, a suburb which in 1906 had a separate government, 
Norfolk County water is used by nine-tenths of the inhabitants. There 
are. however, numerous cisterns and some driven wells. The latter find 
two sources of supply ; the first water, at 10 to 12 feet, is called poor ; 
deeper water, at 45 feet, is hard, and in places too iron-bearing for domestic 
use. The Norfolk & Western Eailway Co. has used Norfolk County water 
largely at its yards and terminal on the Point. It once procured water 
from a system of driven wells 2 miles east of the Point, and subsequently 
tried a shallow well 30 feet in diameter about a half mile east of its yards, 
The water from the deep well, mentioned on page 107, is too highly min- 
eralized for boiler use. 

At Sewell Point, the site of the Jamestown Exposition, water can be 
obtained almost anywhere by driving a pipe down 8 or 10 feet. This water 
is not considered good. The Exposition grounds were supplied by the 
Norfolk County Co. At Ocean View and on Willoughby Spit, where there 
are many suburban residences and summer cottages, water is obtained from 
driven wells. On the Spit the wells are 20 to 25 feet deep. The water is 
apt to be irony. At Ocean View station wells are about 12 feet deep, and 
yield better water than along the beach, where they average 18 to 20 feet 
and yield irony water. A few wells, from 20 to 30 feet deep, strike water 
in a blue sand below a blue mud. The water has a slight sulphur taste and 
at some wells is irony. A driller reports that in the vicinity of Ocean View 
a bed of shells is occasionally struck in the blue sand above the blue mud 
at a depth of 8 feet. This shell bed is probably of Pleistocene age and part 
of the Columbia group. 

Darton° has published records of several borings made by the city of 
Norfolk in search of shallow water east of the city. The two following are 
u r iven in slightly modified forms to show the general character of the 
Columbia materials, and the depth to the main water beds. 



aDarton, N. II.. Norfolk folio, U. S. Geol. Survey. 1902. p. 4. 



N"0KF0LK COUNTY. 



230 



Poorhouse tract swamp. 



Material 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


4 


5 


4 


9 


23% 


32% 


1% 


35% 


3% 


38 5-12 


7y 2 


45% 


6% 


51% 



Muck 

Firesand -. 

Sand and clay 

Blue clay 

Sandy clay 

Sand and clay 

Gravel, with water, on sand 



Drummond woods. 



Material 



Sand 

White sand 

Sand and clay 

Clay and sandy clay 

Sandy clay 

White sand 

Gravel, with water, on sand 



Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 


3 


4 


9 


13 


8 


21 


oy 2 

2% 

5% 


30 y, 
36% 
38% 
44 



South of Norfolk, along the South Branch of Elizabeth River, wells 
have been put down for the boiler supply of mills. Most yield fair water. 
The E. S. Barnes Co., at its plant on the east bank of the South Branch, 
2 miles above the Norfolk Navy Yard, has 10 wells 72 to 86 feet deep. A 
partial analysis by the Hartford Steam Boiler Co. showed 648 parts of 
solid matter per 1,000,000, considerable soda, lime, magnesia, chlorides, 
and sulphates, some silica and potash, and a little iron ; the chief substance 
in solution was sodium chloride, with "traces" of calcium and magnesium 
sulphates, a rather poor boiler water. Another well, 120 feet deep, yielded 
somewhat similar water, containing 652 parts of solid matter per 1,000,000. 
A group of 14 wells, 15 feet deep, at the same plant, yielded water that con- 
tained only 164 parts of solid matter per 1,000,000, a good boiler water. 
In this water the hardness was chiefly temporary, from carbonates of lime 
and magnesia. 

The Pocomoke Guano Co. obtains water from a well 86 feet deep, near 
Elizabeth River. The following record was furnished by the company : 



Record of 86-foot well of the Poco' 


moke 


Guano 


Co., 


near Elizabe 


til 


River. 


Material 








Thickness 

(Feet) 


Deptli 

(Feet) 


Hard black dirt 








. . . 1 3 




3 


Blue marl and mud 








. .. 9 
. . . 68 


12 

80 


Shells, sand and gravel, water-bearing 


80 







240 UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

A partial analysis of the water from this well (table 7) shows an 
unusually high percentage of organic matter. 

Another well, that of the Roanoke Railroad & Lumber Co., not far from 
the two plants previously mentioned, penetrated the following beds, accord- 
ing to ih'. 1 company. 

Record of well of Roanoke Railroad & Lumber Co. 

Material 

Surface soil and sand 

( Slay, sands at base, water 

Black mud with fine shells, clear water at about 53 feet.. . 
Black mud 



Thickness 


Deptli 


(Feet) 


(Feel ) 


15 


15 


10 


25 


28 


53 


10 


63 



The water is said to be slightly salty and to scale badly in a boiler. 

The pumping plant of the Portsmouth. Berkeley & Suffolk Water Co. 
draws on some 35 6-inch wells, 25 feet deep, about 3 miles south of 
Berkeley. The wells obtain water from a bed of gray sand below blue mud. 
The water level of the wells varies considerably. At times it is within 3 
feet of surface, but under heavy pumping falls to 17 feet. In 1906, there 
were no buildings on the tract and the possibility of pollution was remote. 
The water is said to be slightly hard. A partial analysis furnished by the 
American Waterworks & Guarantee Co. of Pittsburg, Pa., given in table 
7, shows a chlorine content of 17 parts per 1,000,000, about the average 
in Norfolk County for unpolluted shallow waters at poinls away from salt 
creeks or arms of Chesapeake Bay. 

At Oaklet, southeast of Norfolk, two water-bearing sands are tapped 
by the driven wells: The first, 12 to 18 feet below the surface and 8 to 1<> 
feet thick; the second, about 10 feet below the surface, and separated from 
the first by blue clay. A well driven 124 feet proved a failure, finding no 
water at that depth. The water from the tO-foot sand is considered more 
heall hful t han t hat from the lo-foot. 

The city of Portsmouth is supplied with water from Lake Kilby by the 
Portsmouth, Berkeley & Suffolk Co. Probably nine-tenths of the inhabi- 
tant- n\' Portsmouth use this water, the remainder using driven wells and 
cisterns. 

At the Scottsville yards of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, lVi> miles 
west of Portsmouth post-office, there are 1 1 2 , 1 _»-ineh wells and 12 1-ineh 
wells, all lid to (i I feet deep. The elevation of the ground at the wells is 
aboul in feet. The following record was furnished by the company: 



NORFOLK COUNTY. 241 

Record of driven wells at yard of Seaboard Air Line Railway, Portsmouth. 



Material 



Depth 
(Feet) 




Fine gray sand 

Very fine gray quicksand with bits of rotten wood and tree 

trunks at 18 to 20 feet 

Bluish-gray clay from 8 to 10 feet thick 

Very fine light buff sand, water-bearing 

Hard, coarse gravel 

ISTo shell beds were found. The wells have double points, and are driven 
into the gravel because points in the soft sand corrode quickly. The yields 
are comparatively free, though the 2%-inch wells are sometimes choked by 
sand. The draught in 1906 was 200,000 gallons of water daily, which was 
used for locomotive supply and general purposes. It is considered a good 
boiler water. Analyses of water from the old and new wells are given in 
table 7. 

The old wells comprise 14 24/2-inch and 2 4-inch wells, nearer the creek 
than the new wells (10 4-inch), and the water consequently contains more 
sodium chloride. Pumping for several months had slight effect on the 
quality, as is shown by the analyses. 

At Port Norfolk, the Norfolk & Portsmouth Traction Co. has, at a 
power plant at the corner of Mount Vernon Street and Florida Avenue, a 
mile south of Elizabeth Eiver, 24 wells, 22 of which are 1% inch in 
diameter and 16 feet deep, and two are 2 inches in diameter and 50 feet 
deep. In 1906, these supplied all the water for the boilers, rated at 950 
horsepower, also for washing cars and for fire protection, in all about 55,000 
gallons daily. The water is stated to work well in a boiler, forming but 
little scale. The water from the deep well is said to be harder than that 
from the shallow wells. A partial analysis furnished by the company, re- 
computed to standard form, is given in table 7. 

Near the Norfolk & Portsmouth Co.'s power house the Air Line Manu- 
facturing Co. had, in 1906, 5 1%-inch wells 38 to 40 feet deep, which sup- 
plied water for a boiler capacity of 160 horsepower. The following record 
is reported: 

Record of wells of Air Line Manufacturing Co., Port Norfolk. 

, , , . , Thickness Depth 

Material (Feet) (Feet) 

Clay and sand with water at 8 to 14 feet 14 14 

Blue mud 20 34 

Sand, water-bearing 4 38 

The water was considered hard and a boiler compound was used to 
prevent scale. A partial analysis, recomputed, is given in table 7. 



17 



242 U.VDERGROUXD WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

At the U. S. Naval Hospital in the southern part of the city 4 driven 
wells, 2Y2 inches in diameter and 35 feet deep, were sunk 400 feet back 
from Elizabeth Eiver. The maximum yield obtained by pumping was 50 
gallons per minute. The water, which rises to 8 feet of surface, or about 
tide level, is rather hard and is not used in boilers at the hospital. A partial 
analysis, furnished by the medical inspector in command, is given in table 
7. In the same table appears an analysis of water from a shallow well 
owned by the Portsmouth Knitting Mills. 

Tn the rural sections of Norfolk County, driven as well as dug wells 
generally go only to the first water-bearing sand, but some driven wells are 
40 to 80 feet deep. The quality of the water varies from place to place, but, 
except close to tidal inlets, is usually soft. Near the Dismal Swamp, where 
the water table is almost at the surface, the water is apt to be highly colored 
and of poor quality. 

Data collected regarding shallow wells at a number of places are sum- 
marized below : 

Details of shallow wells in Norfolk County. 



Locality 



Cornland .... 
Deep Creek . 
Fentress 

Gilmerton . . . 
Grassfield . . . 
Great Bridge . 

Hickory 

Indian Creek . 
Link 

Oaklet 

Piney Beach . 

Port Norfolk 

Puglis 

Sewell's Point 
Tanners Creek 
West Norfolk 



Depth of 
well 
(Feet) . 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


8-45 




Sand 


Deep, good 


6-12 




Sand 


Good 


10-30 




Sand 


Shallow, soft, or 
salty; deep, irony 


8-10 






Bad 


8-14 




Sand 


Poor to good 


10-15 




Sand 


Hard 


10-30 




Sand 


Soft to hard 


8-12 








8-18 




Shallow, soft ; 








deep, hard. 


12-18 




Sand 


Shallow, poor ; 
deep, good 


10-15 


Clay, 


sand and 


Brackish 




gravel. 




10-35 




Marl 


Not good 


25-30 




Sand 


Soft 


10-50 




Sand 


Soft, irony, hard 


10-12 




Sand 


Soft 


20-30 




Sand 


Hard 



At some places where the shallow water is poor, cisterns are more or 
less used. 

At Great Bridge a dug well struck a shell bed containing "large oyster 
shells" at 20 feet. Water was found at about 30 feet which quickly 
filled the well. The owner uses the water for irrigation, and reports pump- 
ing 214 gallons per minute without lowering its level. 



NORTHAMPTON COUNTY. 243 

Conclusions. — Ground water suitable for household and domestic use 
can be had at many places in Norfolk County at slight cost. Because of the 
easy pollution of dug wells, unless protected with more than average care, 
driven wells are to be preferred; water from 25 to 50 feet is less liable to 
pollution than that from 5 to 20 feet below surface. The best water will 
be found on dry tracts 10 to 30 feet above sea level, the poorest on lower 
ground along tidal inlets. Deep artesian water can be had under the whole 
county; its quality is problematical. Flows of such clear, soft water as 
are found in counties to the west are not to be expected. 

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY. 

General description. — Northampton County covers the southern part of 
the peninsula known as the Eastern Shore. The topographic aspects of the 
county are much like those of Accomac. Low islands or barrier beaches 
fringe the eastern coast ; behind these are broad, shallow lagoons, mud 
flats bare at low tide, and wide stretches of salt marsh. On the bay side 
the shoreline is sharper. The surface elevations apparently lie below 35 
feet and the surface is included in the lower Columbia terraces. 

Geology. — Reddish buff to yellow clay loam underlies the sandy soil, 
and is underlain in turn by white and yellowish sands with occasional beds 
of light clay. The maximum thickness of these beds may be 40 feet. Be- 
neath are the same series of silver-gray or bluish-gray sands, shell beds, and 
soft, dark clays, that are found in Accomac County, and are regarded as 
part of the Columbia group. Fewer drilled wells have been sunk in 
Northampton than in Accomac County, hence information regarding beds 
of fossil shells is scant, but they evidently occur at varying depths, the 
least depth reported being 30 feet, near Brighton. There is no evidence 
available for sharply separating the bottom of the Columbia (Pleistocene) 
from the top of the Chesapeake (Miocene), but the Columbia may be 100 
feet thick. Pliocene beds may be present but have not been recognized. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — Good water has been found at most places. 
The depth to the water table, the "first spring," may be 20 feet in places, 
but usually is decidedly less and probably averages not far from 10 feet. 
The water table after prolonged wet weather comes to the surface on many 
flat stretches of land. The water from the deeper sands, the "second and 
third springs," contains, as a rule, more lime and less iron than that from 
the "first spring," and, if proper care is taken in its recovery, is practically 
above suspicion of pollution from surface sources. 



244 UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Springs. — There are very few springs in the county. One 6 miles east 
of Chesapeake is reported to flow 1 gallon of clear, soft water per minute. 

Wells.- — The dug well is still the most widely used source of water 
supply. Wood casing is heing supplanted by tile. Driven wells are becom- 
ing more and more popular. It is claimed by some persons that since 
driven wells came into general use there has been a marked improvement in 
the public health. 

Most of the driven wells get water from the "first spring" and are not 
over 20 feet deep, but may go down 50 or 60 feet, and some drilled wells 
go to depths of 100 feet and more. The usual charge for "driving pumps" 
(putting down l^-inch driven wells), is about 30 cents per foot, the point 
and pump being priced separately. The type of point most used is 3 feet 
long with 60-mesh gauze screens; gauze as fine as 90-mesh being rarely 
used. 

Wells of 1^-inch diameter are almost invariably driven. Sometimes 
the pipe strikes "rocks" so dense that a 75-pound hammer falling 15 feet 
will not start it, but where conditions are favorable 125 feet of pipe can 
be driven in l 1 /*? days. Drilled 2-inch wells are put down by the wash 
process, charges varying from 50 cents to $1 per foot, with point and pump 
included. These wells often have 6-foot Cook strainers. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Exmore supplies are obtained from the "first springy' wells averag- 
ing 10 to 20 feet deep . The tank of the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk 
Railroad is supplied with water from a 14-foot dug well, 18 feet in diameter, 
supplemented by points driven to the "second spring" at 30 to 40 feet. A 
partial analysis of the water from the 14-foot, 30-foot, and 40-foot wells is 
given in table 7. The analyses are chiefly interesting for the increase in 
hardness and in chlorine with depth. An analysis of water from a 12-foot 
well, made by C. B. Dudley for the Pennsylvania System, showed 8.4 grains 
of total solid residue per gallon, consisting principally of lime and magnesia 
-ulphate with no carbonate, a slightly corrosive water. 

The water in most of the village wells is soft and contains little iron. 
The pumps and dug wells at Nassawadox and Franktown show wide varia- 
tions in supplies. At Nassawadox, drillers know 4 "springs" at depths of 
8, 18, 28, and 38 feet. Water from the first is considered fairly good, that 
from the second and third irony, while that from the fourth has a decided 
sulphur odor. At Franktown, pumps are driven to two water beds, at 20 
and at 35 to 40 feet. Both furnish soft water that is not irony, but local 
physicians prefer water from the deeper bed. 



NORTHAMPTON COUNTY. 245 

At Eastville, water is found at approximate depths of 10, 30, and 40 
feet. Most driven wells go to the 30-foot bed which yields a soft, slightly 
iron-bearing water. One well driven 105 feet found no water below 33 
feet. A well at the Courthouse, much used by the public, is driven 40 feet, 
and yields good water. (For field assay, see table 7.) The tank of the 
New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad has been supplied from a 14- 
foot dug well that gives a satisfactory boiler water. A partial analysis ap- 
pears in table 7. Another analysis made by C. B. Dudley showed 11.01 
grains per gallon of total solid residue, consisting chiefly of lime and mag- 
nesia sulphates, with considerable chlorides. 

At Cheriton most pumps get water at 16 or 30 feet; it is said to be 
medium soft and is more or less iron-bearing, though at some wells it con- 
tains very little iron. Water having a decided sulphur odor was found at 
63 feet in a well at Huff Brothers' store, and is no longer used. The record 
of this well is as follows : 

Record of well at Chenton. 
(Authority, Huff Brothers, owners.) 



Material 


Thickness 

(Feet) 


Depth 

(Feet) 


Soil 


1 

29 

32 

1 


1 


Yellow and gray sand, with water at 14 to 16 feet and 29 
to 30 feet ..." 


30 


Blue marsh mud 


62 


Sand and shells ; sulphur water 


63 







There are many flowing wells in the county but not nearly so many as 
in Accomac. Most of them are on the ocean side, several being on Upshur 
Neck. One of these, on Brownsville Creek, driven by W. M. E. Tilghman, 
of Nassawadox, for Thomas Upshur, is 127 feet deep, 1*4 inches in 
diameter, and flowed 1% gallons per minute at an elevation of 5% feet 
above mean high tide. At Oyster, 5 li^-inch wells were drilled some years 
ago for W. T. Travis. They are said to range in depth from 175 to 225 
feet and to strike silver gray sands containing marine shells. The flows are 
about 1 gallon per minute at 3 feet above mean high water, and about one- 
third more at high tide than at low. The water has a faint sulphur odor 
' but is excellent and is used for domestic supply and on fishermen's boats. 
A field assay of water from one well is in table 7. 

Cape Charles is the only town in Northampton County having a public 
supply system. The supply in 1906 came from an open well, 20 feet in 
diameter and 20 feet deep, and 17 3-inch points, 3 driven to 40 feet, and 



246 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



14 to less depths. Twelve of these points were owned by the city and 5 by 
an ice plant. Owing to the steady draught the water table, normally about 
8 feet below surface, has been lowered over a considerable area about the 
points, so that the 12-foot well is ordinarily entirely dry, and contains a 
few inches of water only after prolonged wet weather. The water from the 
points which tap the "second spring' 7 in the Talbot sands makes good ice, 
but forms scale in boilers. In 1906, about three-fourths of the town's popu- 
lation used city water, the remainder using pumps driven to the "first 
spring." 

At the shops of the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Eailroad are 22 
40-foot points and 4 90-foot points directly connected to a steam pump. 
The log of the deeper wells, situated at 4 feet above mean high tide, is as 
follows : 

Record of well of New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Eailroad, at shops, 

Cape Charles. 
(Authority. Geo. Russell, superintendent motive power, X. Y. P. & N. R. R. ) 



Material 



Deptli 
(Feet) 




Surface soil 

Buff sandy clay 

Yellow sand, water at 10 feet 

White sand, quicksand with water 

Gravel and pebbles, pebbles yellow, white, red, and black.... 

Pea-green marl, no shells 

Black mud with rotten wood, no shells 

Shells and sand: good water at 90 feet which rises to 6 feet 
of surface 

An attempt to get a flow by drilling deeper, made some 20 years ago, 
proved a failure, no freely water-bearing beds being found to a depth of 
300 feet, but the character of the rig used prevented this test from being 
decisive. In 1910, the railroad had a well sunk over 1,500 feet by a careful 
driller, but found no strongly water-bearing sand between 40 and 1,520 feet. 

The water from the driven wells is used in stationary boilers, also by 
locomotives and steamboats. It forms a hard scale. At the shops the boilers 
are run in weekly alternation and thoroughly cleaned when idle. Soda ash 
caused priming and various boiler compounds tried were too costly for the 
results obtained. Analyses of water from a 14-foot dug well and from a 
90-fool point are given in table 7. It is not impossible, in view of the 
depression of the water table by pumping and the situation of the wells 
near the bay, that salt water may gradually work inland and impair the 
quality of the present supplies at the shops. 



NORTHAMPTON COUNTY. 



247 



The conditions governing the underground occurrence of fresli water 
on the low islands along the coast have already been discussed (page 117). 
To get water other than rain water is a matter of considerable importance 
because of the growing popularity of the islands as resorts. AYatei- from 
shallow driven pumps is the most available, though this is as a rule high- 
colored, irony, and, after high tides or dry weather, brackish. Wells sunk 
100 to 250 feet may give better supplies, much depending on the location 
of the island with reference to catchment areas on the mainland. 

The conditions on several of these islands are summarized below : 

Details of wells on islands of Northampton County. 



Island 


Deepest 

well 

(Feet) 


Level of water 
above or below 

surface 

(Feet) 


Yield 
(Gal. p.m.) 


Quality 


Use 


Mockhorn 


109 
185 

14 

169 (?) 


9 
— 1% 


3 


Irony 


Domestic 
Domestic 


Fisherman's 






and stock 
Abandoned 


Sandy, or Cherry- 
stone. 


-fiy 2 


10 


Slightly 
saline 


Boiler 







Xo records of the materials passed through have been kept, but water- 
bearing sands of the Columbia group (Pleistocene) supply the shallow 
wells, and Chesapeake (Miocene) sands the deep wells. 

The well on Sandy Island is of interest on account of the small area and 
slight elevation (less than 5 feet) of the island, which is nearly covered by 
a large fish factory. The well supplies 20,000 gallons per day, the flow at 
1% feet above tide varies from nothing to 10 gallons per minute, but, by 
pumping, 80 gallons per minute can be obtained. The water, though 
brackish, is used for drinking and cooking and to supply 7 tubular boilers, 
rated capacity 800 horsepower. Three fishing steamers owned by the com- 
pany also use the water. It forms a hard, white scale. A field assay is 
given in table 8. 

The wells on Fisherman's Island were driven to supply the Quarantine 
Station, the points became clogged by rust, and the wells were abandoned. 
The Bone Island well was sunk for a club-house and other buildings. The 
water is used for drinking and other purposes, but contains a rather large 
percentage of chlorine and is high in iron. 

Data regarding wells at other places in the county are summarized 
below : 



248 UNDEEGEOUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVIXCE. 



Details of wells in Northampton County. 



Location 



Birdsnest . 
Capeville 

Chesapeake 
Dalleye . . 



Depth of 

well 

(Feet) 



Eastville 



Franktown .... 
Mashipongo 
Reed's Wharf . . 
Stewart's Wharf 
Wardtown .... 
Willis' Wharf . 



8-30 

14-18 

10-60 

driven and drilled 
12-30 dug 

12-50 driven 

10-15 dug 

12-15 dug 

20-35 driven 

10-60 
12-18 

4-25 

6-30 
10-20 

8-25 



Water hod 



Sand 
Sand 



Quality of 
water 



S li a 1 1 o w. sand, 
deep, sand and 
gravel. 



Sand 
Sand 
Sand 



S h a 1 1 o w. fair; 

deep, good. 
S h a 1 1 o w, f a i r, 

deep, good. 



S h al lo w, salty 
deep, hetter. 



Good 



Good 
Fair to good 
Poor to faii- 
Salty to good 
Poor to fair 
S h a 1 1 o w. soft 
deep, hard. 



Conclusions. — At most points in the county driven wells, 30 to 50 feet 
deep, are preferable for sanitary reasons to those 10 to 20 feet deep; and 
for the same reason driven w r ells are much preferable to dug wells. Artesian 
waters that will rise 3 to 5 feet above tide level can be had by wells 75 to 
100 feet at many places, but the sands are not continuous, and depths to 
flows can not be predicted if no drilling has been done in the vicinity. 

While the lower formations of the Chesapeake group (Miocene) and 
the sands of the Pamunkey group (Eocene) may contain beds that will give 
flows at elevations less than 10 feet, and while the Upper Cretaceous and 
the Potomac undoubtedly contain such beds, sinking to depths of over 500 
feet is not advisable. As indicated by wells in Gloucester County on the 
west and across the Maryland line on the north, these deep waters are in all 
probability highly mineralized. 

At Cape Charles the quality and volume of the water obtainable near 
the water front to a depth of 1,500 feet have been proven. Better water 
can probably be had by wells 20 to (SO feet deep driven east of the town, and 
larger yield by placing points at least: 50 feet apart. The water found at 
250 feet in sinking the deep well may repay investigation. 

On the off-shore islands along the coast deep water prospects are not so 
promising as on the mainland, and on some of these islands cisterns will 
prove more satisfactory than wells. 



NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY. 249 

NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY. 

General description. — Northumberland County, formed in 1648, oc- 
cupies part of the eastern end of the Northern Neck, the peninsula between 
Potomac and Eappahannock rivers. The county faces ■ Potomac River on 
the north and Chesapeake Bay on the east, and has a decidedly irregular 
outline. 

Much of the county has the topography peculiar to the greater part of 
the Sunderland plain, a gently undulating surface, sharply cut by creek 
gorges. Altitudes on this plain are nowhere above 120 feet. Practically 
all streams draining the county flow to Potomac River or Chesapeake Bay, 
the county line on the south following the Potomac-Rappahannock divide. 

Geology. — Columbia deposits mantle the surface. Miocene beds belong- 
ing to the St. Mary's formation are exposed at many points near Yeocomico, 
Great Wicomico, Little Wicomico, and Coan rivers. They are prevailingly 
sandy, gray to greenish or bluish in tint, and contain beds of shells. The 
Pamunkey, the Upper Cretaceous, and the Potomac beds are not exposed 
within the county ; well records indicate that the bottom of the Chesapeake 
group lies 320 feet below tide water on the western boundary of the county 
and 600 feet below at Fleet Point. The base of the Pamunkey is 500 feet 
blow tide water at Kinsale and 700 feet below at Fleet Point. The crystal- 
line bed rock may be 1,500 feet below sea level at Kinsale. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — Ground water, abundant and potable, is 
found in the Columbia sands and in the top beds of the Chesapeake under 
most of the county. On the lower terraces many shallow wells go dry in 
time of drought. The quality of the water varies from soft and sweet to 
hard, irony, or brackish. 

The deeper Chesapeake sands and the Pamunkey sands carry soft water 
under the whole county. There are artesian sands at the base of the Cal- 
vert, in the Nanjemoy formation, and in still lower beds, possibly Matawan. 
The heads of the flows range from 10 to 35 feet above sea level. The Chesa- 
peake flows are soft, alkaline, and slightly sulphur-bearing. The Pamunkey 
waters much resemble the Chesapeake but have less sulphur odor. The 
Upper Cretaceous waters are harder than the Chesapeake and Pamunkey, 
and contain more lime salt. 

Springs. — There are many springs of the usual Coastal Plain type- along 
scarps, and in gorges and gullies. The majority flow from Columbia sands. 



250 UNDERGKOUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

a few from shell beds in the Chesapeake group. The great majority are 
without improvements and are used only for watering stock. From none is 
water sold. 

Wells. — On the. higher terraces dug wells are lined with planks at the 
bottom and at the top, since the loams near surface are sand}'. On the 
lower terraces wells are lined with planks or boards throughout. A small 
proportion of the wells are lined with brick; very few are cased with tile. 
On the lower terraces are a few driven wells, and along inlets from Potomac 
river and Chesapeake bay are many drilled wells. Most of these are of small 
diameter, under 2 inches, and go only to the first sand that will yield a flow. 
A few are of larger diameter, 2 to 6 inches, and go down more than 500 feet. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Heathsville, the county seat, all the water used is obtained from dug 
wells 25 to 45 feet deep ; in some wells it is hard. 

On Yeocomico and Coan rivers most of the flowing wells get water from 
Calvert sands at 250 to 320 feet. A field assay of water from the Calvert 
flow at Coan on Coan River is given in table 8. 

The wells on the Great Wicomico are among the most notable in Tide- 
water Virginia. They range in depth from 590 to nearly 700 feet, and are 
2 to 6 inches in diameter. Most of them were drilled by the same con- 
tractor, R. H. Milligan. of Crisfield, Md. Through the kindness of Mr. 
Milligan the following record of a well at Reedville is published: 

Record of 698-foot well of J. C. Fisher. Reedville. 
(Authority. "R. H. Milligan, driller.) 



Material 



Soil, sand, gravel etc 

Sandy clay 

Blue clay 

Dark marl (clay and sand, full of shells) 

Shell rock 

Hard dark marl 

Rock 

Sand, water-bearing: sulphur water. How not tested 

Sofi dark clay 

Dark marl with thin crusts of rock 

Hard rock 

Tough dark clay 

White micaceous sand, contains lignite, water-bearing; How 18 
gallons through a 2-inch pipe at 30 feet above tidewater.. . . 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet ) 


no 


00 


20 


80 


50 


1 30 


133 


203 


8 


271 


101 


.372 


2 


374 


20 


400 


S 


408 


68 


470 


4 


480 


210 


000 



60S 



NORTHUMBEKLAND COUNTY. 



251 



Mr. Milligan also furnished the following notes on the formations pene- 
trated below 670 feet by the well at Fleet Point. 

Partial record of well of Fleeton Development Co., Fleeton. 
(Authority, R. H. Milligan, driller.) 



Material 



No record 

Hard white sand containing a little water 

Hard marl, with green clay below 

Sand, water-bearing, flow at surface 15 gallons per minute 

through 3-inch pipe 

Dark clay or marl 

White sand, water-bearing, flow not tested 

Red clay (a streak not over 1 foot thick and "red as paint" 

at 725 feet) turning broAvnish below 

White sand lying in crusts, comes up in balls easily crushed 

with the fingers, water-bearing; flow 30 gallons per minute 

through 2-inch pipe 



Thickness 

(Feet) 

672 
20 
17 

1 

10 

1 

19 



Depth 

(Feet) 



672 
692 
709 

710 
720 
721 

740 



745 



The red clay and the white sand below it correspond to those struck at 
Urbanna, in Middlesex County,, at 520 to 590 feet. 

The water from the deep wells on the Great Wicomico is used for gen- 
eral household purposes, but particularly for boiler supply and for cleaning 
at the fish factories. 

The conditions reported at some places in Northumberland County, 
where dug and driven wells are the sole sources of supply, are summarized 
as follows: 

Details of wells in Northumberland County. 



Location 



Blackwells . . . 
Brown's Store 

Coan 

Cowart 

Callao 

Fleeton 

Hvacinth .... 



Lottsburg 



Dvnhams 

Mila 

Reedville 

Rainswood 

Sampson's Wharf 

Tibitha 

Wicomico Church 



Depth of 
well 

(Feet) 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


35-72 
20-35 

8-80 

10-14 

35-50 

18 
40-50 


Sand and rock 
Sand 

Sand 

Sand and gravel 

Sand 

Sand 

Iron crusts a n d 

clay. 
Iron crusts and 


Good 
Shallow, salty; 
deep, good. 
Soft to hard 

Soft 
Slightly hard 
Soft, brackish 


25-60 


Soft 


8-20 


sand. 

Sand 


Soft 


14-50 
10-15 
15-25 
12-50 


Sand and marl 
Sand 
Sand 


Soft 

Soft 

Soft and hard 


7-15 

10-80 


Sand 


Good 



252 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Conclusions. — In Northumberland, as in other counties in the Virginia 
Coastal Plain, the development of ground water by dug wells is not always 
done with proper care. Though most wells, except those in villages, are not 
situated dangerously near privies and other sources of pollution, the pro- 
tection of the wells at surface is usually altogether too slight. An abundant 
supply of artesian waters that will rise 35 feet above sea level can be had 
anywhere in the county by properly drilled and cased wells. The develop- 
ment of this water merits more attention than it has received, in spite of 
the many flowing wells in the county. At Heathville, soft water can be 
had by drilling 340 feet: it will have to be pumped as it will rise only to 
within about 40 feet of the surface. 

PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY. 

General description. — Prince George County, formed in 1702 from 
( harles City County, lies south of James Eiver and the tidal portion of 
Appomattox Eiver, east of Petersburg, The most thickly settled portion 
of the county is near Petersburg, which city is just across the county line 
in Dinwiddie County. 

The county is near the western edge of the Coastal Plain, but. except 
along James Eiver where the more important creeks, Baileys, Craves, and 
Ohipoak, have cut short valleys, the topography differs from that of 
counties along the "fall-line"' to (he north. The headwaters of Blackwater 
Eiver are only 5 miles from Appomattox Eiver. Blackwater Eiver flows 
into the Chowan, which empties into Albemarle Sound 150 miles to the 
southeast. Except near their mouths, the creeks flowing to the James 
have steep gradients; those flowing to the Blackwater and Nottoway have 
flatter gradients. The larger streams flow through narrow swamps 30 to 
60 feet below an undulating sandy plain. The valley slopes are without 
steep descents. The highest points in the county are just south of Peters- 
burg and have an elevation of 200 feet, but most of the county is com- 
paratively low, a considerable portion being less than 100 feet above sea 
level. Terraces are clearly traceable along Appomattox and James rivers, 
but along the tributaries of Blackwater and Nottoway rivers the terraces 
grade into each other by slopes; scarps are not prominent. The greater 
part of the high ground of the county is included in the Sunderland terrace. 

Geology. — The oldest visible formation within the county limits is the 
Patuxent of the Potomac group (Lower Cretaceous). Its characteristic 
arkosic sandstones and incoherent sands containing pebbles, cobbles, and 
clay balls, arc exposed near Livetenani Hun. a tributary of Appomattox 



PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY. 253 

Eiver, in the northwest corner of the county, and in various places near 
Appomattox Eiver for 4 or 5 miles northeastward. 'Che greensands and 
shell beds of the Aquia formation of the Pamunkey group (Eocene) out- 
crop on Livetenant Eun near the Petersburg waterworks pumping station 
and at several places on James Eiver, as in the bluffs at City Point. The 
Calvert formation of the Chesapeake group (Miocene) containing dark 
and light diatomaceous clays, and dark and light sandy clays, with shell 
beds, overlaps both the Pamunkey and Potomac. The base of the Chesa- 
peake is 5 feet above sea level at Coggins Point, but is about 150 feet 
below at the mouth of Chipoak Creek, 10 miles southeast. Near Peters- 
burg, the base of the Pamunkey is about at sea level, whereas at City 
Point, 6 miles northeast, it is about 20 feet below, and between is a wide 
stretch of country where Potomac beds are 50 feet above sea level. The 
base of the Pamunkey at the mouth of Chipoak Creek is about 300 feet 
below sea level. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — An abundance of water is stored in the 
Columbia sands and the upper beds of the Potomac and Pamunkey groups 
in the western part of the county, and the upper beds of the Chesapeake 
in the eastern and southern portions. The quality shows wide differences, 
but the water generally is soft. Eelatively few deep wells have been drilled 
in the county, and little is known of the quality of the Patuxent and 
Potomac waters under more than 100 feet of cover. 

Springs. — Prince George County contains numerous springs, but none 
of commercial interest. Some are used for household supply. One of the 
most noted is at City Point; it really consists of several springs developed 
by digging along the face of the bluff, and once supplied the hospital of 
Grant's army. It is now used by several families. The total flow is per- 
haps 50 gallons per minute. The water is clear, tasteless, and odorless, 
but, as it comes from shell beds in the Pamunkey, is slightly hard. 

At Coggins Point a spring that flows from sand beds near the top of 
the Chesapeake supplies the residence of David Dunlop. The water is 
pumped by a gasoline engine from an enclosed masonry basin to an ele- 
vated tank, and is distributed thence to the dwelling house and other 
buildings. The flow is 25 gallons per minute. The water is clear, taste- 
less, odorless, and low in lime (for field assay see table 6). 

Two springs are worthry of note. One, having a flow of 25 gallons per 
minute, is 2 miles west of Disputanta, the other is at Warwick Church a 



254: UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



mile farther west. Both springs flow from surface sands a foot or two 
above the level of the water in Warwick Swamp. Field assays of the 
waters are given in table 6. A spring near Garysville has been utilized 
for household supply by means of a ram. 

Wells. — Dug wells that draw on water-bearing sands in the Columbia 
formations are the chief source of supply in villages and. on farms. Most 
of them are cased with wood, a few with tile; near Petersburg are many 
deep, bricked wells. The cost of dug wells varies. At City Point the cost 
of wells 20 to 50 feet deep is $2 per foot for digging and bricking. There 
are some driven wells and some bored wells. In places ordinary driven 
wells are unsatisfactory because of fine sand clogging the pipes and cutting 
pump valves. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Prince George Courthouse only dug wells are • used. These yield 
water that is said to be slightly hard. The lower part of Blandford, a 
suburb of Petersburg, is supplied with surface water from the Petersburg 
system. The dug wells on the high ground are 40 to 60 feet deep, and 
usually get soft water. On the lowland near Appomattox Eiver driven 
wells get water of varying quality at depths of 20 to 25 feet, from Columbia 
or Potomac sands and gravels. At City Point, where dug wells 20 to 50 
feet deep get hard water, a drilled well 112 feet deep obtains from Potomac 
gravels plentiful supplies of soft water that is sometimes turbid from clay 
in the water bed. Samples saved from this well served for the following 
record : 

Record of well of the Misses Epes, City Point. 



Material 



Soil, clay and sand ( no sample) 

Fine to coarse quartz sand with a little dark clay and much 

glauconite 

Quartz sand, glauconitic, and coarse gravel, in light clay 

Fine to coarse white gravel with a little arkosic sand, some 

glauconite 

Fine gravel in white clay 

Gravel and well-rounded pebbles up to 2 inches in diameter. 

with a little white clay: water-bearing 




Depth 

(Feet) 

40 

55 
75 

89 
112 

112 



A complete analysis of this water, of interest because of the location of 
the well, is given in table 11. 

At Coggins Point a well 307 feet deep passed through several water- 
bearing beds between 60 feet and the bottom, but could not get a flow, as 
the elevation of the well mouth is 63 feet above mean high tide in James 
River. 



PRINCE GEORGE COUXTY 



255 



At Disputanta, people rely on dug wells about 14 feet deep which get 
soft water from red. buff and yellow loams of the Columbia group. As 
the loams stand well, many of the wells are not cased, having only 2 or 3 
feet of wood curbing at the top. The average depth of the wells within a 
mile of Disputanta is 20 feet; the deepest well is 35 feet. In the vicinity 
of Wall's Store wells on slopes get hard water at 10 to 15 feet in marl, while 
those on high ground get soft water at 22 to 25 feet in white sand under 
red clay. 

Information regarding dug wells at other points in the county is sum- 
marized herewith : 

Details of dug wells in Prince George County. 



Location 


Depth of 

well Water bed 

(Feet) 


Quality of 
water 


Brandon .... 


15-20 Loam and sand 


Soft 


Burrowsville 


15-40 Shallow, sand; 
deep, marl. 
32 Sand 
20-30 Sand 
20-40 Sand 
15-40 


Good and bad 


■ 
Edlow 


Soft 
Soft 


Garysville 


Soft 


Templeton 


Irony 

Soft 
Soft 


Youngblood's Store 


30 Sand 
20-35 Sand 



At Spratleyville a bored well near the store went through soil 2 feet; 
variegated clay, 15 feet; yellow sand, 18 feet; coarse white gravel — water- 
bearing — 1 foot. Near Garysville wells on high ground go through soil, 



pipe 



clav 



1 foot; red clay, 10 feet; yellow sand with cobbles, 3 feet; 
and red clay, 10 feet; and get water from white sand. 

Conclusions. — As the western side of Prince George County is near the 
edge of the Coastal Plain, there is slight chance of obtaining flowing wells 
except along James Eiver east of City Point. Plows with heads of 10 to 
25 feet above tide can be had from Pamunkey and Potomac beds on low- 
ground near the river east of Baileys Creek. 

At Prince George artesian water can be had from the Potomac beds by 
pumping; the water will rise to about 35 feet below the level of the Court- 
house. At Disputanta, the artesian waters in the Pamunkey and Potomac 
sands will rise to about 40 feet below the level of the railroad station. 
Hence there is no chance of getting flows. 



256 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

PRINCESS ANNE COUNTY. 

General description. — Princess Anne County, formed in 161)1 from 
Norfolk County, is bounded on the north by Chesapeake Bay, on the east 
by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the North Carolina line, and on the 
west by Norfolk County. The only incorporated town in the county is 
Virginia Beach, a noted resort. 

The surface of Princess Anne County is flat and is included in a low 
terrace. At the northwest, between the eastern branch of Elizabeth 
River and Lynnhaven Inlet, the surface in places rises 25 feet above mean 
sea level, but much the greater part of the county has an elevation of less 
than 20 feet. The highest points are on the sand dunes near Cape Henry, 
over 75 feet high. The county contains considerable tracts of swamp and 
marsh land. Shallow lagoons with wide stretches of salt marsh lie back of 
the barrier beach that extends from a few miles south of Virginia Beach 
to the North Carolina line. The principal streams are tidal and have 
marshy shores. 

Geology. — No formations older than Columbia beds are exposed. The 
youngest Columbia formation, as shown by well records, is probably 75 feet 
thick. It comprises buff loams and light-colored sands, underlain below 
water level by soft, dark clays, termed marsh mud by well drillers, sands 
and shell beds. 

Below the Pleistocene beds lies the Chesapeake group, the upper part 
of which shows by well records not less than 250 feet of dark, sandy clay, 
which contains continuous sand beds and beds of shell marl, but in general 
is dense and impervious. Pamunke}' - , Upper Cretaceous, and Potomac beds 
underlie the Chesapeake in order. Crystalline bed rock is over 2,200 feet 
below sea level. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — Water lies near the surface in Princess Anne 
County, and abundant supplies can be had almost everywhere, but the 
quality a1 many places is not satisfactory. The shallow water where the 
water table is just below the surface is in many places of objectionable 
color oi- odor, and is not considered healthful. In some places this water is 
iron-bearing, and, along tidal inlets and on the barrier beaches, it is 
brackish. The waters, 15 to 50 feet below surface, are less liable to be 
polluted and are preferred. In places they are irony or brackish, and as a 
rule are hard. The discontinuous sands near the top of the Chesapeake 
group have been little prospected. The quality of the deeper flows, as 



PRINCESS ANNE COUNTY. 257 

shown by the well at the Norfolk City Waterworks pumping station, has 
already been discussed. (See page 110 et seq.) 

At their best, the Columbia supplies are soft and clear, and as good 
drinking water as can be desired. At their worst, they are so highly colored, 
hard, iron-bearing, and salty as to be unsuited for most purposes. 

Springs. — There are few springs in Princess Anne County ; one of com- 
mercial importance is Diamond Spring, situated on land owned by C. F. 
Hodgman, a quarter of a mile east of Waterway. The water issues from 
Talbot sands at the foot of a slight descent to an arm of Lake Lawson, and 
the flow is said to vary but little during the year. The water has been sold 
in Norfolk. The following sanitary analysis was furnished by the owner : 

Analysis of water from Diamond Spring near Waterway. 
(C. F. Chandler, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 36.4 

Organic and volatile 12.5 

Chlorides 10.5 

Chlorides as sodium chloride , 17.4 

Phosphates 0.0 

Nitrogen as nitrates and nitrites 1 . 55 

Permanent hardness, equivalent to CaC0 3 13.1 

The sanitary surroundings of this spring in 1906 were excellent. 

Other springs are those of E. B. Macon and W. B. Strong, 2 miles west 
of Virginia Beach, which have been used for domestic supply. 

Wells. — Driven wells are the principal source of water supply. Many 
of them are inexpensive, being driven by a maul to the first water-bearing 
sand and finished with a pitcher pump. The yields vary greatly. Where 
the ground water is iron-bearing and corrosive the yield is much reduced 
within a few years by rust clogging the pipe. Wells finished with brass 
gauze, or slotted brass screens, and good pumps maintain their yield much 
longer. 

Dug wells are used chiefly for stock; because of their easy pollution 
they are reccommended only for irrigation. Several deep wells have been 
drilled in the county; particulars of some are given in table 5. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

The Norfolk County Water Co., which supplies part of the city of 
Norfolk and several suburban settlements, has its pumping plant on a tract 



38 



258 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

of land containing about 275 acres, some 5 miles northeast of Xorfolk, and 
a mile east of Moore's Bridge. Here the company had driven or dug, 
previous to December 1, 1906, 36 wells, varying in depth from 30 to 40 
feet ; all cased with iron. Thirty of the wells are 6 inches in diameter, and 
6 are 54 inches. Water normally stands 9 to 17 feet below the surface, 
which has an elevation of 15 to 25 feet. Below the light-colored Talbot 
sands are bluish sands containing shells and some dark bluish clay. One 
well driven 50 feet as a test found no water in these beds. The following 
average section was given from memory: 



Average record of wells of Norfolk County Water Co., Waterway. 



Material 



Soil 

Fine yellowish sand 

Yellow and brownish coarser sand with some gravel. 

Fine white sand 

Medium coarse light yellow sand 

Fine bluish sand with shells, sticky bluish mud below 



1'hickness 


Depth 


(Feet J 


(Feet) 


1 


1 


3y> 


4V» 


10 


14L. 


2V 2 


17 


16 


33 


17 


50 



Before locating its pumping plant, the company tested several tracts of 
land north and east of Norfolk, driving possibly 30 wells in all. The 
present site was selected because of the yield and quality of the water 
obtainable. An analysis in table 7 shows, according to the company, the 
average quality of the ground water in the vicinity of its wells. 

The pumping plant of the Norfolk City Waterworks is a little more 
than a mile southeast of the Xorfolk County plant. The supply is from 
shallow ponds, connected by canals. These canals in places went through 
shell beds lying apparently from 5 to 10 feet below water level. At the 
pumping station is a deep, artesian well, described on page 110. 

At A 7 irginia Beach, which has a population of possibly 5,000 during the 
height of the bathing season, several attempts to get artesian water have 
been made. One in 1890 found no water that would rise 10 feet above sea 
level though the well went down 350 feet. Another well driven some years 
later at the Princess Anne Hotel obtained water of fair quality at 00 feet. 
This water did not rise to surface, but to about sea level. In 1906, supplies 
at the Beach were obtained from shallow wells driven 5 to about 30 feet, 
estimates of maximum depth varying considerably. The first water is 
found in sands below buff or yellow clay. The following record was given 
as a fair average of the materials penetrated: 



PRINCESS ANNE COUNTY 



259 



Well at Virginia BeacJt. 
(Authority, J. L. Walker.) 



Material 



Sandy soil 

Yellowish and reddish clay 

White sand and blue clay in alternating strata, 2 to 4 feet thick 



Thickness 

(Feet) 



1 
10 
16 



Depth 

(Feet) 

1 
11 
27 



Most of the wells have hand pumps, some have wind pumps, and a few 
steam or gasoline pumps. 

Some wells yield soft and some yield hard water. Many, near the 
ocean, yield slightly brackish water. At nearly all wells the water con- 
tains some iron, at a few it contains little. Cistern water is largely used 
for drinking. A field assay of a sample from what was said to be one of 
the best wells on the beach appears in table 7. 

At Cape Henry driven wells, 10 to 20 feet deep, and cisterns are used. 
Some of the wells yield soft water, but at most the water is highly colored 
and at some brackish. Along the ocean beach from a few miles south of 
Virginia Beach to the North Carolina line there is no good well water. 
Between Lynnhaven and Broad bays clear, soft water is reported at 15 to 
25 feet, in sand below red clay and sandy surface soil. Dug and driven 
wells at other points obtain supplies that vary in quality from place to 
place. Some conditions reported are here recorded : 

Details of wells in Princess Anne County. 



Location 



Bonney 
Herbert . . . 
Jacksondale 



London Bridge 10-20 



Lynnhaven 

Mapleton 



Nimmo 
Sigma 



Depth of 
well 

(Feet) 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


12-15 


Sand 


Good 


25 

8-30 


Sand 
Sand 


Irony 
Shallow, soft; 
deep, hard and 


10-20 


Sand 


irony. 
S h a 1 lo w, irony ; 


10-18 


Sand 


deep, good. 
Soft, hard, irony 


10-15 


Shallow, clav and 


Shallow, good or 




sand; deep, mud. 


brackish ; deep, 


10-15 


Sand 


hard and irony. 
Good 


20-25 




Slightly brackish 



Conclusions. — Enough driven and drilled wells have been sunk in 
Princess Anne County to show average prospects. Excellent water can be 



260 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

had near the surface at many points, at other points cistern water or water 
from ponds or lakes will be found more satisfactory. More attention 
should be given the location of shallow wells, and the indiscriminate driv- 
ing of wells 10 to 20 feet deep in the immediate vicinity of privies and 
cesspools should not be tolerated. Deep drilling in the hope of finding 
potable water from the basal Chesapeake (Calvert), Pamunkey, Upper 
Cretaceous, or Potomac sands is inadvisable; in fact, will in all probability 
prove a waste of effort. 

At Virginia Beach the possibility of getting water of satisfactory 
quality from driven wells in vacant land away from tidal inlets had re- 
ceived little attention up to 1906. The supply of the town must come 
either from such shallow wells or from ponds. 

An adequate supply for the municipal waterworks of Norfolk can be 
more easily and cheaply obtained from streams than from wells. 

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY. 

General description. — Prince William County, formed in 1730, lies on 
the west side of Potomac Eiver above the big bend. Only a small part of 
its area, a strip along the river containing about 80 square miles, libs within 
the Coastal Plain province. 

Lying on the slope from the Piedmont Plain to Potomnj Eiver, with 
differences of altitude of over 300 feet, the Coastal Plain area has been 
deeply eroded and the topography is rough and broken. Except for a few 
strips on the lower terraces near the river there is little level ground. 
Patches of the Lafayette terrace back of Quantico are 300 feet above sea 
level, but intermediate terraces are traceable with lifriculty. The drainage 
in the Coastal Plain section is in creeks tribncary to Potomac River, of 
which Occoquan Creek, which forms the northern boundary of the county, 
is the most important. 

Geology. — Overlying the crystalline oed rock, which is exposed along 
the upper courses of the creeks, are the gray arkosic sands and sandstones, 
and drab and brown clays of the Patuxent formation of the Potomac group 
(Lower Cretaceous). Except for small scattered patches the Pamunkey 
(Eocene) greensands and clays have been removed by erosion, and the 
Chesapeake (Miocene) beds have been entirely removed. The cobble beds, 
sands, and bright-colored loams of the Columbia formations, and the 
Lafayette, hide the Potomac beds in many places. 



PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY. 



261 



UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

The Patuxent formation, as shown by deep wells near the river, con- 
tains water-bearing sands that vary in thickness, lateral extent, and yield 
to wells. At most places one or more sands yield good water freely. 
Ground waters reached by dug, bored, or driven wells, lie in Columbia, 
Lafayette, or Potomac sands, at varying depths according to the location 
of the wells. As a rule the water is soft. 

Springs are numerous. Little use is made of most of them and none 
are now of commercial importance. One, that of J. R. King, a mile north 
of Dumfries, was a resort of some note 50 years ago. 



LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

Artesian wells have been sunk at Myron (Cherry Hill), Quantico, and 
at a point 5 miles north of Quantico. The following record of the well at 
Myron was obtained from 1ST. H. Darton. 

Record of well at Cherry Hill. 
(Authority, W. C. Miller, driller.) 



Material 



Top soil 

Sand and gravel 

Sandy clay 

Yellow sand and gravel with water 

No record 

Yellow sand and gravel, some water 
Blue clay mixed with sand, some water 

Blue and brown clay 

Blue sandy clay , 

No record 

Fine sand with water 

Blue clay, mixed with a little sand 

Coarse sand with gravel, plenty of water 
Blue clay and sand with rock (?) at 257 feet 




The well yielded 50 to 60 gallons per minute during an 8-hour pump- 
ing test. 

The water is soft and slightly iron-bearing, a yield by pumping of about 
320 gallons per minute through a 4-inch pipe is reported. 

The well at Quantico is 210 feet deep. Darton a has published this 
record : 



a-Darton. N. H., Op. cit., 1896, p. 177. 



262 UNDEEGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Record of well at Quantico. 



Material 



White clay 

Fine gravel 

Red clay 

Fine red sand 

Very hard blue clay 

Fine sand 

Dark clay 

Coarse dark sand 

Light-colored clay 

Verv coarse sand and water 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


22 


22 


6 


28 


25 


53 


5 


58 


28 


86 


3 


89 


35 


124 


3 


127 


78 


205 


5 


210 



This well, 4 inches in diameter, flowed 30 gallons per minute at 10 feet 
above the river. The head is said to have been 22 feet. The water is used 
by a number of families in the village. 

The well 5 miles north of Quantico was sunk for the projected town of 
Barrow, and is little used. Water was struck in a bed of sand, or sand- 
stone, at 143 feet. The following record has been published:" 



Record of well at Barrow. 



Material 



Clay and marl 

Gravel 

Clay 



Sandstone 

Coarse sandstone, water-bearing 

Sandstone 

Bluish sandy clay , 

Brown clay 

Bluish sandy clay and fine sand 
Sandstone, large supply of water. 

Yellow clay 

Sand with pebbles 

Yellow clay 

Brown clav 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


10 


10 


10 


20 


10 


30 


14 


44 


1 


45 


12 


57 


1 


58 


15 


73 


40 


113 


30 


143 


4 


147 


13 


160 


5 


165 


30 


105 



Some reported depths of dug wells and the supplies obtained are as 
follows : 

Details of dug wells in Prince William County. 



Location 



Agnewville 
Dumfries 



Neabsco 




Water bed 



Quality of 
water 



Gravel Soft to irony 

Shallow, iron Soft, hard, irony 
crusts; deep, 
clay 
Sand Soft 



"Darton. \. II.. Op. eit.. 1896, p. 177. 



RICHMOND COUNTY. 263 



RICHMOND COUNTY. 



General description. — Richmond County, formed in 1692 from old 
Rappahannock County, is in the Xorthern Neck, the peninsula between 
Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. The more important creeks, Monatico 
and Totuskey, drain into the Rappahannock. The topography resembles 
that of many counties north of James River. The creeks head in sharply 
cut valleys and are tidal and bordered with salt marshes along their lower 
courses. The maximum altitude of the Sunderland plain is about 150 
feet, near Farmers Fork, and 100 feet near Downings. 

Geology. — The loams of the Columbia formations are exposed in many 
road cuts. The dark, clayey sands of the St. Mary's formation of the 
Chesapeake group (Miocene) outcrop at numerous points along Rappa- 
hannock River and its tributary creeks. Pamunkey (Eocene) beds are 
not exposed, the base of the Chesapeake lying about 50 feet below tide in 
the northwestern corner of the county, and 300 feet below near Simonson 
in the southeastern part. Upper Cretaceous beds probably underlie the 
Pamunkey and are in turn underlain by Potomac. The bottom of the 
Pamunkey is probably 300 feet below tide at Carter's Wharf, and 450 feet 
below at Simonson. Bed rock lies fully 1,000 feet deep. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution ami quality. — The sands of the Columbia formations and 
the highest Chesapeake beds contain ground water that varies in quality 
from soft and clear to hard and irony. Xear the middle of the Chesapeake 
in the Choptank formation and toward its base in the Calvert formation 
are coarse sands that yield artesian water. Other sands lie in the Xan- 
jemoy formation of the Pamunkey. Heads vary from 20 to 35 feet above 
tide. Chesapeake and Pamunkey waters are soft and limpid, but the 
former have as a rule a slight odor of sulphur. The Chesapeake waters, as 
in Essex County across the Rappahannock, are less alkaline and contain 
more lime than farther east. At a number of places the substitution of 
artesian for shallow well water is said to have resulted in a marked im- 
provement of the public health. 

Springs. — Richmond County abounds in springs, but little use is made 
of them, except by stock. The springs are of small volume, seeps rather 
than bold flows, relatively few exceeding 5 gallons per minute. One owned 
by A. J. Snyder, near Blantyre, flows about 5 gallons per minute of soft 
water from iron crusts at the base of the Sunderland formation. There 
is no spring in the county from which shipments of water are reported, or 
is a resort. 

Wells. — Dug wells are almost the sole source of supply on high ground. 
Many are cased with wood from top to bottom. At some of the old churches 



264 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

and at old manor houses are bricked wells. Many of the shallow wells fail 
in prolonged droughts. Along Eappahannock Eiver and tributary creeks 
are a considerable number of drilled wells, practically all of small diameter. 
The contract price for sinking about 275 feet ranges from $50 to $75. 
The actual labor cost of sinking, if everything goes nicely and no hard 
beds or "rocks" are encountered, may be $25. 



LOCAL SUPPLIES. 



At Warsaw, on the Sunderland plain, water is obtained from dug wells 
35 to 50 feet deep, of which there are about 30. The following is an 
average section of the beds penetrated: 

General section at Warsaw. 



Material 



Soil 

Red clay 

White sand 

Red sand and clay 

Rock, iron crusts 

Fullers earth, dark blue clay 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


5 


5 


17 


22 


14 


36 


3 


39 


2 


41 



The white sand bed halfway down gives much trouble to wells cased 
with plank in the usual way. The average life of the plank, as it is above 
water level, is but 6 or 7 years, and replacing the casing when decayed is 
more or less troublesome. 

Along Eappahannock Eiver not less than 50 artesian wells have been 
driven, there being at least 17 at Sharp's Wharf alone. Depths vary from 
165 to 366 feet, but most of the wells draw on sands in the Calvert forma- 
tion 160 to 300 feet below tide. Summarized information is given in 
table 5. 

The following record of a well at Naylor's Wharf is given by Darton a : 

Record of 866-foot well at Naylors Wharf. 



Material 



Surface deposits 

Fullers earl h . . 
Marl 



Rock strata, 1 to 15 feet apart, containing water 

Black sand 

Blue fullers earth 

Dark orange colored loam 

Black sand, full of water, which rises to 35 feet above tide. . . . 

Blue fullers earth, underlain by a soft rock layer, with water 

that rises to 45 feet above tide 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


20 


20 


100 


120 


15 


135 


20 


155 


15 


170 


90 


260 


15 


275 


50 


325 



60 



385 



"Dai ton. N. IT., Op. cit., p. 175. 



RICHMOND COUNTY. 265 

This well is used for domestic supply and by a canning factory. The 
quality of the water, which rose from a black sand in the Aquia formation, 
is shown by the field assay in table 9. 

At Sharp's Wharf, one of the most important oyster-shipping points on 
Eappahannock Eiver, most of the flowing wells go about 240 feet below 
tide and get water in the Calvert formation, from the same sand beds that 
are tapped by the wells at Bowler's Wharf on the opposite shore of the 
Eappahannock. A few go 360 feet to the Nanjemoy, and at least one 
reaches an Upper Cretaceous (?) sand at 440 feet. The head of the 240- 
foot wells was originally 24 feet, that of the 320-foot wells is about 30 feet 
above tide. The water is used for removing the mud from oysters as they 
are brought from the beds, and for washing shucked oysters. The flows 
are also utilized to keep oysters from freezing in winter, a pile of several 
hundred bushels being kept through the sharpest frosts without injury by 
allowing the water, which has a temperature of 63° F., to flow over them. 

At one of the wells near Wellford's Wharf, which draws on Choptank 
sands, the following beds were penetrated: 

Record of 165-foot well of Frank Garland at Wellford's Wharf. 
(Authority, Frank Garland, owner.) 



Material 


Thickness 

(Feet) 


Depth 
(Feet) 




5 
30 
50 
55 

25 


5 




35 




85 




140 


Sand and rock, with hard rock stratum at 163% feet; 


water 


165 







This well, at an elevation of 6 feet, flows 24 gallons per minute. The 
head is about 22 feet above mean high tide, and is a foot lower at ebb than 
at flood tide. 

Near Whealton are several wells that tap deeper sands in the Calvert 
formation. 

Near the bridge across Totuskey Creek east of Warsaw, several flowing 
wells draw on Calvert sands at about 180 feet. The water is used for 
domestic purposes, in saw-mill boilers, and at a canning factory. It is 
called a fairly satisfactory boiler water though having a tendency to foam. 
Field assays are given in table 8. 

The following record of a well higher up Totuskey Creek is of interest 
from the occurrence of a sand yielding artesian water at a depth of only 



266 UNDERGEOUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



65 feet. This sand, which was found also in a dug well, is probably of 
limited extent. 

Record of well of W. E. Garland, near head of Totuskey Creel-, 5 miles 

east of Warsaw. 



Material 




Thickness 
(Feet) 


Depth 

(Feet) 


Surface wash 


S 

157 

2 

17 
3 

1 


8 


P>lue marl, water at 05 feet 

Rock 


165 
167 


Blue marl 


184 


Rock 


187 


Sand (composed of medium quartz grains with much 
green to black glauconite) : water, head at 30 feet. . . . 


dark 


188 



The flow is 16 gallons per minute through a 1%-inch pipe at 8 feet 
above river. This well was put clown by the owner in less than a day. The 
water is used for household purposes. The overflow, received in a cement 
basin protected b} r a small building, prevents viands from freezing in 
winter and keeps them cool in summer. 

Data collected at various places in the county regarding dug wells are 



given below : 



Details of dug wells in Richmond County. 



Location 



Blantyre 

Carters Wharf 
Downings 
Farmers Fork 

Farham 

Ilaynesville . . 




Quality of 
water 



Ivondale 

Newland 
Sharps 

Well ford 



20-50 
16-50 
35-45 
25-60 

L2 60 

1 2-65 

1 S-45 
IS -20 
1 5-22 



Clay or sand 
Loam and sand 



Sand or clay 



Clay 

Clay and sand 

Sand 



Hard 

Soft 



Good 

Soft to hard 

Shallow, soft ; 

deep. hard. 

Shallow, hard to 

soft; deep, hard. 

Soft 

Hard 

Soft 



Conclusions. — Water that is perfectly healthful, so far as freedom from 
disease germs is concerned, can be had by dug or bored wells less than 50 
feel deep at many points in the county, provided the wells are not located 
Dear sources of pollution, and are properly cased or lined, preferably with 
tile. Soft, iron-free, artesian waters can be had anywhere, but pumping will 
lie necessary at places more than 20 to -ft feet above sea level. 



SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. 267 

At Warsaw, elevation 105 feet, good supplies can be had by sinking a 
6-inch well to the Calvert sands about 300 feet below the level of the Court- 
house. There is also a possibility of obtaining water in the sands at 225 
feet down. From neither of these sands will the water rise to 50 feet of 
surface. 

SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. 

General description. — Southampton County, formed in 1784 from Isle 
of Wight, lies between Sussex County and the North Carolina line, its 
north end being 30 miles southeast of Eichmond. 

The county has a rolling surface. It is traversed by Blackwater and 
Nottoway rivers, which unite to form the Chowan at the southeast corner 
of the county, and is bounded on the southwest by Meherrin Eiver. These 
streams flow through rather open valleys and meander across low terrace 
plains, and their tributaries are called swamps. A large part of the sur- 
face is included in the Sunderland and Wicomico terraces. Later 
Columbia terraces can be traced along the river valleys, but their total 
extent is undetermined. The maximum elevation of the highest terrace 
is about 110 feet near Joyner, Ivor, in the northern part of the county, 
has an elevation of about 90 feet. The highest ground in the vicinity of 
Franklin is 84 feet above sea level. In the valleys of Meherrin, Nottoway, 
and Blackwater rivers in the southern part of the county, a low Columbia 
terrace, with an elevation of 20 to 25 feet above tide water, covers large 
areas. The extent of the low terraces, those less than 40 feet above tide, 
is an important question since it is along them that flowing wells are to 
be had. 

Geology. — The sandy loams of the Columbia formations hide the older 
deposits over nearly all the county, the Chesapeake (Miocene) sands and 
marls being exposed here and there on valley slopes. The base of the 
Chesapeake is about 20 feet above sea level in the west end of the county 
and 120 feet below near Franklin, evidently dipping eastward about 4i/> 
feet per mile. The Chesapeake thins to feather edges at the west, but is 
200 feet thick on high ground in the northeast end of the county. The 
Pamunkey (Eocene), Potomac (Lower Cretaceous), and Upper Creta- 
ceous beds underlie the Chesapeake group under part of the county, but 
toward the southwest the Pamunkey beds thin out and disappear and the 
Chesapeake rests directly on the Potomac. Even at Franklin there is no 
positive evidence that the Pamunkey is present. At Emporia, in Greenes- 
ville County, 2 miles west of the west corner of Southampton County, 
crystalline bed rock comes above sea level, so that the thickness of the 



268 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Potomac and Upper Cretaceous beds in Southampton County varies from 
almost a feather edge to possibly 900 feet at Franklin. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The Columbia sands carry plenty of water, 
which at many places is hard; in low ground the shallow water is not con- 
sidered healthful. The depths to the water table vary with differences in 
topography, but in general water lies not more than 20 feet below surface. 
In the southern, eastern, northern, and western parts of the county 
artesian waters under heads of 25 to 50 feet above tide are found, in the 
sands of the Potomac group or of the Upper Cretaceous; well drillers say 
the sands at Arringdale, Hugo, Branchville, Boykins, Delaware, Courtland, 
and Franklin are white and contain much mica, and more or less lignite, 
called "wood" or "coal." In places the sands are apparently arkosic. As 
no fossils have been saved from bore holes, the exact age of the sands is in 
doubt. Similar sands are reported at Margaretsville, on Meherrin River in 
North Carolina. The artesian waters show considerable differences. In 
general they are soft and alkaline and well adapted to household use, but 
at some places they contain iron and have a distinct sulphur odor. 

Springs. — While there are in the aggregate many springs along the 
creeks of Southampton County, most of them issue as seeps rather than 
strong flows, and in some sections of the county springs are relatively scarce. 
A few are used for household supply but none are of commercial importance. 

Wells. — Southampton County probably contains more drilled wells than 
any other county of Tidewater Virginia except King William. The total 
number may exceed 300. Nearly all are IV2 or 2 inches in diameter. 
Depths range from 75 to 344 feet, and costs from 25 to 50 cents per foot. 
On the higher ground dug wells are the main source of supply for farms 
and villages. The usual price for digging is $5 for 30 feet. There are some 
bored wells and many driven wells in the county. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Branchville are about Vi wells that develop a water-bearing sand in 
Potomac or Upper Cretaceous beds. The depths range from 130 to 250 
feet and the heads are 45 to 50 feet above sea level, the level of the railroad 
station being taken as 46 feet. The flows are from 1 to 8 gallons per 
minute. As many as four flows have been found by one well. 

The following general section at Branchville is reported by R. G. Ellis & 
Son, well drillers. 



SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. 



269 



General section at Branchville. 



Material 



Surface soil, sand and clay 

Yellowish sand, water 

Soft blue mud 

Blue marl, with shells 

Sand, with lignite 

Red and white clay, with sand layers 

White sand, contains mica and lignite and at some wells 
much kaolin, water-bearing 



45 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


10 


10 


11 


21 


13 


24 


17 


41 


9 


50 


60 


110 



155 



Other water-bearing sands lie below, separated by clayey beds. The well 
of T. J. Harrell found flows at 90, 110, 160, and 207 feet. 

The artesian water is of good quality, although having a faint sulphur 
odor and being slightly iron-bearing at some wells. 

At Boykins, 3 miles east of Branchville, about 25 wells, mostly for house- 
hold supply, have been driven to Upper Cretaceous or Potomac beds, the 
succession of surface soil, clay, sand, blue mud, marl, reddish clay, and sand 
being much the same as at Branchville. The wells range in depth from 
85 to 130 feet. The water is soft, but at some wells carries a little iron and 
is sulphur-bearing. An idea of its mineralization may be had from the 
field assays in table 8. 

Near Arringdale are several small diameter wells that get flows from 
white micaceous sands below clay and marl. The wells go 70 to 75 feet 
below the surface of a swamp, elevation about 70 feet. They are used for 
household supply and for stock. 

The Tidewater Eailway Co. (Virginian Eailway) has at Sebrel the 
largest and deepest well reported in the county. It is 10 inches in diameter 
and goes down 344 feet. It probably draws on Potomac sands. The fol- 
lowing record was kept by the driller : 



Record of well of Tidewater Railway Co., Sebrel. 
(Authority, Tidewater Railway Co., owner.) 



Material 



Clay 

Clay and sand 
Light blue mud , . . 
Blue mud and sand 

Blue mud 

Sand and gravel . . 

Blue clay 

Sand and clay . . . . 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


10 


10 


20 


30 


21 


51 


10 


61 


51 


112 


10 


122 


32 


154 


13 


167 



270 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Record of well of Tidewater Railway Co., Sebrel — (Continued). 



Material 



Blue clay 

Fine yellow sand 

Blue clay and sand 

Coarse sand and gravel ; water 

Hard blue clay 

Dark mucky clay 

Blue clay 

Soft mucky blue clay 

Blue clay 

White sand and water-worn gravel with pebbles the size of a 
small eo#; water-bearing 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


8 


175 


11 


186 


5 


191 


21 


201 


4 


206 


18 


224 


12 


236 


53 


289 


53 


342 



342 



The water level of this well when completed was 21 feet below surface, 
elevation 55 feet. For a test the well was pumped steadily 18% hours at 
the rate of 106 gallons per minute. This lowered the water to 48 feet 
below surface, but after pumping ceased the water rose gradually to within 
15 feet of surface. The well was drilled for locomotive supply. The water 
contains sodium bicarbonate, as indicated by the analysis in table 7d, and 
has a tendency to foam. The water at 191 to 202 feet rose to 30 feet of 
surface. 

At Ivor on high ground, 4 miles west of Zuni, the Shaw Lumber Co. 
sunk a deep well to procure supplies to supplement those obtainable from 
dug wells. It draws on Upper Cretaceous or Potomac sands. The follow- 
ing log is reported : 

Record of well of Shaw Lumber Co., Ivor. 
(Authority, Shaw Lumber Co., owners.) 



Material 



Earth, marl, quicksand and blue mud 

Blue mud and clay 

Green mud 

Black sand and gravel, with a small supply of water 

White sand and small gravel : 

White sand with layers of blue mud 

Wiiter-bearing sand 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet ) 


(Feet) 


106 


106 


89 


195 


6 


201 


19 


220 


17 


237 


19 


256 


31 


287 



The water from the bottom rises to 35 feet of the surface; the yield 
by air-lift is 55 to 60 gallons per minute. The 6-inch casing is finished 
with a No. 6 Cook strainer, 20 feet 6 inches long. 

At Courtland are many flowing wells, possibly 75. T. J. Moore, of 
Storeys, reports having put down more than 50. Yields average about 10 
gallons through a 2-inch pipe at surface, but vary from 1 to 50 gallons, 



SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY 



271 



depths and yield depending partly on the elevation of the well. Where 
wells are thick, yields and heads have been reduced by interference, those 
on low ground draining those on higher ground. The original head was 
about 27 feet above sea level, and on the high ground, elevation about 30 
feet above the Nottoway River, wells have to be pumped. The following 
general record is reported by Mr. Moore : 

General section at Courtland. 



Material 



Soil, clay and sand ; water at 6 feet 

Blue mud 

Marl and blue mud 

Yellow pipe clay 

White micaceous sand with "wood," water-bearing, water rising 

about to surface 

Yellow pipe clay 

White micaceous sand with "wood"; water at 130 feet rising 

12 feet above surface 




Depth 

(Feet) 

13 

36 

96 

120 

122 
130 

145 



A 2-inch well at the level of the main street, about 20 feet above Notto- 
way River, flows 25 gallons per minute. The artesian water is of excellent 
quality for household use, containing very little iron and having no sulphur 
odor. In a boiler it foams. Results of a field assay appear in table 8. 

At Franklin a large number of wells have been put down, perhaps 150. 
Depths average 130 feet, but vary since surface elevations in the town 
range from 10 to 35 feet above river level. The water comes from higher 
sands than those tapped by the Courtland wells, and are presumably of 
Upper Cretaceous age. The following succession is reported by T. J. 
Moore : 

General section at Franklin. 



Material 



Soil clay and sand • 

Blue mud 

Blue marl and shells 

Blue pipe clay 

Hardpan or marl rock; drilled 14 inches in 3 days 

Dark clay, like blue mud above 

Hardpan or marl rock 

Clay and sand 

Hardpan or marl rock 

White micaceous sand, with "chunks of wood," water-bearing 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


15 


15 


20 


35 


40 


75 


25 


100 


1 


101 


30 


131 


% 


13V 2 


8V2 


140 


v>i 


140% 


24 y 2 


165 



272 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

The average flow of 2-inch wells at the level of the main street, 20 feet 
above high tide in Blackwater Eiver, is 4 gallons per minute. On "the 
ridge," the higher ground in town, elevation over 34 feet, the wells have to 
be pumped, as the water will not rise over 26 feet above high tide. 

Flowing wells have also been drilled on Meherrin Eiver west of Branch- 
ville, at Hugo, and south of Boykins, on Nottoway Eiver several miles 
north and south of Courtland, and on Blackwater Eiver as far north as 
Zuni, though no wells are reported on the Blackwater between Zuni and 5 
miles from Franklin; south of Franklin deep wells are reported for 5 
miles. 

The following statement summarizes the information collected regard- 
ing dug wells at various places in the county : 

Details of dug wells in Southampton County. 



Location 



Aidyl 

Assamoosick 



Conley . . 
Ivor 

Maury . . 
Newsoms 
Sunbeam 



Unity . 
Worrells 



Depth of 

well 

(Feet) 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


15-30 
6-60 

15-20 
10-17 
10-40 
10-30 
15-25 

12-16 
22 




Soft 


Loam, sand and 
marl. 


Soft 

Fair to good 

Soft 
Soft 


Blue clay 




Soft 





Soft, hard ; deep, 
irony. 
Soft to hard 


Sand and marl 
Sand 



Conclusions. — Enough drilling has been done to indicate that flowing 
wells of good water can be had in this county on the low terraces along 
Blackwater Eiver below McClelland, along Nottoway Eiver below 10 miles 
north of Courtland, and along Meherrin Eiver below 10 miles east of 
Emporia. Flows are not to be expected on the higher divides between the 
main rivers, but can be had up many tributaries for considerable distances. 
Where, as at Courtland or Franklin, heads have fallen and flows grown 
smaller by allowing wells to run without restraint more water can be had 
by going deeper. , 

SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTY. 

General description. — Spottsylvania County, formed in 1720 from 
Essex, King William, and King and Queen counties, lies between Eappa- 
hannock and North Anna rivers. Only a small part of the county near 
the eastern border is included in the Coastal Plain. The topography of 



SPOTTSTLVANIA COUNTY. 273 

this portion of the county is as a whole hilly, but there are extensive level 
stretches 50 to 70 feet high along Eappahannock Kiver, and also on the 
high Lafayette plain, which has an elevation of 250 feet south of 
Fredericksburg. 

In the valleys of the main streams west of Fredericksburg the crystal- 
line gneisses and granites are exposed. They are overlain by the arkosic 
gravels and sands of the Potomac (Lower Cretaceous) and further south 
by the sandy clays and sands of the Chesapeake (Miocene). Near Massa- 
ponax Creek, Pamunkey (Eocene) greensands weathered to reddish and 
buff tints separate the Potomac from the Chesapeake beds. The Columbia 
cobble beds, sands, and loams rest in places directly on bed rock, in places 
on Potomac, in places on Pamunkey, and in places on Chesapeake beds. 
The Potomac group has a maximum thickness of 300 feet in the extreme 
northeast corner of the county. The Pamunkey and Chesapeake are 
thinner. The Chesapeake is everywhere above sea level, and only a small 
portion of the Pamunkey is below. 

UNDERGROUND WATEES. 

Distribution and quality. — The coarser beds of the Lafayette and the 
several Columbia formations are the most important reservoirs of ground 
water. The supplies generally are soft and slightly mineralized, but in 
places the water in the 60-foot terrace formation is decidedly iron-bearing. 
In the Pamunkey and Chesapeake sands the water varies from hard to soft. 
Little is known of the Potomac sands below tide level. 

Springs. — Because of the water-bearing sands in the Lafayette and 
lower-lying terrace formations being uncovered along scarps, springs are 
numerous. Most of them are small, a few show bold flows and several in 
the vicinity of Fredericksburg have been long used by the public. Two of 
these, known as the Mint and the Gunnery springs, are owned by the city. 
They have covered masonry basins which exclude trash and surface wash 
during storms. Each spring flows from the base of a terrace, and the 
terrace immediately back of each spring is rather densely populated. The 
water from neither spring can be regarded as safe from pollution, though 
the danger at the Gunnery spring is less than at the Mint spring. In 1906, 
the water from both springs was drunk by a considerable number of people, 
particularly in the summer, because of its coolness and clearness. 

Another spring, known as the Silk Mill spring, issues from the base of 
the same terrace, near the river, in the northwest part of the city. It has 
been used more or less by people living in the vicinity, but an investigation 



19 



274 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

by the local Board of Health in 1905 indicated that the spring water was 
dangerous and should not be drunk unless boiled. 

Besides these springs, several near the base of the Lafayette scarp on 
the heights a mile west of the cit} r are utilized for public service by the 
Aqueduct Water Co. The water is clear and soft. 

Wells. — Dug wells are the main source of supply. Depths vary greatly; 
in hollows on the top of the high Lafayette terrace are wells less than 15 
feet deep, while near the edge of the terrace depths range up to 40 feet. 
Along lower slopes depths are from 20 to 30 feet. 

On the broad terrace plain along Eappahannock Eiver southwest of 
Fredericksburg, wells are dug to depths of 10 to 15 feet, In Fredericks- 
burg is a number of dug wells 20 to 40 feet deep. Several near the river 
front, used for boiler supply, obtain rather hard water from Potomac beds. 

In 1906, there was but one deep well in the city of Fredericksburg, that 
owned by E. D. Cole. This well is 120 feet deep and yields water of low 
mineral content. Mr. Cole uses the water for household purposes and fur- 
nishes it for drinking to neighbors who desire water more refreshing and 
less liable to pollution than that from the turbid Eappahannock. An 
analysis furnished by the owner, but recalculated to standard form, appears 
in table 11. 

Fredericksburg is supplied with raw Eappahannock Eiver water dis- 
tributed by the city waterworks. In addition a private corporation, the 
Fredericksburg Aqueduct Co., distributes the water from the springs on 
the heights back of the town to a limited number of subscribers. This 
company is one of the oldest water companies in the United States giving 
an uninterrupted service, the springs having been developed as far back as 
1823. Water was distributed for many years through bored logs and lead 
pipes. With ordinary care in maintaining the pipes leading from the 
springs to the supply basin, and in protecting the latter, these springs can 
furnish a drinking water of satisfactory quality, so long as the terrace 
above them is sparsely inhabited; but the flow is so small that the use 
must be limited. 

Conclusions. — The gravels and sands, and even the non-clayey beds on 
the terraces along the river and on the divides, yield water in sufficient 
quantity for all the requirements of isolated dwellings and farm supply. 
Deep wells at and southeast of Fredericksburg will probably get good water 
from the Potomac beds. Flows can not be expected on the 60-foot terrace, 
though the water may rise above tide level. 



STAFFORD COUNTY 



275 



STAFFORD COUNTY. 

General description. — Stafford County, formed in 1765 from West- 
moreland County, lies on the west bank of Potomac Eiver north of Rappa- 
hannock River which forms its southern boundary. The Coastal Plain 
portion is a narrow strip along Potomac River. 

Valleys deeply cut by Potomac, Aquia, and other creeks emptying into 
Potomac River give a rugged topography with comparatively few stretches 
of level ground. The maximum elevation, a little over 250 feet, is on a 
patch of the Lafayette plain, northeast of Fredericksburg. There are some 
level stretches on a low Columbia terrace along Potomac River, with eleva- 
tions of 35 to 45 feet. Xear the mouth of Aquia and Potomac creeks are 
cliffs 50 to 100 feet high. 

Geology. — The soil over most of the Coastal Plain portion of Stafford 
County is derived from the Potomac (Lower Cretaceous) clays, shales, 
sands, and gravels. In places the Pamunkey (Eocene) greensands, 
weathered yellow, orange, and red, form the surface material, the largest 
area of Pamunkey being in the extreme southeast corner of the county. 
In this same part of the county a thin sheet of the Chesapeake (Miocene) 
rests on the Pamunke}', the only occurrence of Chesapeake beds in Stafford. 
The Lafayette and Columbia cobble beds, sands, and loams, as a rule 
brightly colored, rest on Potomac, Pamunkey, and on Chesapeake beds. 
The maximum exposed thickness of the Potomac is about 250 feet, and its 
thickness in the southeast corner of the county may be 350 feet. Nearly 
all the Pamunkey beds lie above sea level and no Chesapeake beds extend 
below it. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Springs are numerous but few are of especial note. They and dug 
wells are the sources of domestic supply. Depths to water and quality of 
water vary from place to place; in general the ground water is good. Ex- 
cellent water can be obtained, no doubt, from the Potomac beds, but no 
deep wells have been sunk to determine the depth to water-bearing sands 
or the quality of the water. Flows are not to be expected. 

Dug well conditions at a few points in the Coastal Plain portion of the 
county are summarized as follows: 





Details 


of dug wells in 


Stafford County. 




Location 


Depth of 
well 

(Feet) 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


Brooke 


15-40 

15-30 
20-50 
20-100 
25-50 


Sand and marl 

Sand 

Sand 

Soft rock and sand 

Sand and rock 


Soft to slightlv 


Millin 

Stafford . . 


hard. 
Soft to hard 

Soft 

Soft 
Soft and hard 













276 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

SURRY COUNTY. 

General description. — Surry County, one of the original eight shires of 
Virginia, lies south of James Eiver, in the western part of the Coastal 
Plain. Most of the surface of the county is included in the Sunderland 
plain and is rolling, with a gentle slope to the southeast. Near the northern 
edge of the county Chipoak, Grays, and other creeks flowing to James Eiver 
have cut sharp valleys. As in Prince George County to the west, the south- 
ward flowing streams, such as Cypress Swamp, tributaries of Blackwater 
Eiver, have open valleys. The divide is but a few miles back from James 
Eiver. The Sunderland plain is, as a rule, below 100 feet high, its maxi- 
mum elevation near Eufhns and Spring Grove being 130 feet. Low ter- 
races occupy a very small part of the county. They are most noticeable 
south of Hog Island. For considerable distances, the southern bank of the 
James is steep and high, and the river cuts directly into the Sunderland 
terrace, as at Claremont. 

Geology. — The Columbia (Pleistocene) formations cover most of the 
county. The Chesapeake (Miocene) group outcrops in the bluff at Clare- 
mont and is exposed in creek gullies. South of the divide the Chesapeake 
shell beds have been dug for marl in pits along tributaries of Blackwater 
Eiver. The maximum thickness of the Chesapeake group in the western 
corner of the county is probably 150 feet, its base lying 50 feet below 
tide. In the eastern part of the county near Hog Island the base of the 
formation may be 350 feet deep. The Pamunkey does not outcrop within 
the county limits. Its base is about 350 feet below sea level at Claremont 
and 500 feet below at Homewood. The Potomac is over 500 feet thick and 
crystalline bed rock is fully 800 to 1,500 feet below sea level. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — Surry County is well watered by its 
numerous creeks. The ground water in the Columbia beds is generally 
soft, but in places is of indifferent quality. Ground water in the Chesa- 
peake marls is at many places hard. Depths to water vary greatly. In the 
wide pocosons on the east side of the county the water rises to the surface 
after wet seasons, and is never more than 10 feet below it, while on high 
ground overlooking James Eiver the water table may be 40 feet below the 
surface. 

Plenty of artesian water underlies Surry County in the Chesapeake, 
Pamunkey, and Potomac sands. Both the Chesapeake and Pamunkey 



SURRY COUNTY. 277 

waters are soft and are more or less alkaline. No attempt to reach Potomac 
sands is reported, but it is altogether probable that they will yield plenty 
of water. 

Springs. — Surry County is abundantly favored with springs, nearly all 
the creeks and branches being spring fed. Many of the small springs and 
seeps fail in time of drought, but the deeper springs in the northern part 
of the county and the foiling" springs in the southern part are perennial. 
Most of the springs are little used except by stock, but a few furnish house- 
hold supplies. JN~ear Claremont are several with bold flows. Some from 
beds of marl yield water that is slightly hard and is said to have a marly 
taste. There are people who consider such water unhealthful, but where 
the ground above the spring is thinly settled, the marl bed overlain by a 
thick layer of loam, and surface waters can not reach the sources of the 
spring through poorly protected dug wells, there is no reason for judging 
the healthfulness 'of the water by the taste. A complete analysis of water 
from a marl spring south of Claremont, given in table 6, shows that the 
water contains notable amounts of bicarbonate of soda. A marl spring 
north of the village supplies several families. Another spring just east of 
the city has been improved by the owner, E. E. Harry, who markets the 
water as Trepho Lithia water. This spring flows from iron crusts and 
sands in the Sunderland formation. Various improvements have been 
made at this spring, and precautions have been taken to maintain the sani- 
tary excellence of its surroundings. The following analysis is recomputed 
from one furnished by the owner : 

Analysis of Trepho Lithia water. 
(J. B. Weems, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Total solids 573 . 

Silica ( SiO,) 34 . 3 

Aluminum ( Al ) 1 . 95 

Iron (Fe) 2.88 

Calcium ( Ca ) 115. 

Magnesium (Mg) 3.22 

Sodium (Na) 11.2 

Potassium (K) 2.12 

Lithium (Li) 0.03 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) 395 . 

Sulphate radicle (SO,) 3.82 

Chlorine (CI) 3.46 

Free carbon dioxide (C0 2 ), 3.5 c. c. per liter. 

A group of marl springs just south of Dendron was, at one time, used 
for boiler supply at the mills of the Surry Lumber Co., but the water was 



278 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

so limy and formed so much scale that the springs were abandoned. Other 
springs in the county deserving note are one, 2 miles southeast of Anchor, 
and one 2 miles northeast of Surry, on the road to Scotland. A few springs 
supply houses by rams; there is one at Bacon's Castle. 

Wells. — Open dug wells, often provided with the old-time sweep and 
bucket, constitute the most important source of water for household use. 
Prices for digging these average about $5. Most of them have no lining 
but a wood "curb" at the bottom. The cost of such wells complete has 
often been less than $15. A few of the dug wells are bricked or cased with 
tile; the proportion of the latter is increasing. In dry seasons many of 
the shallow wells fail. There are some bored wells and some driven wells, 
and along James Eiver a few drilled wells. At a number of points near 
the river the ground waters are so limy or irony that cisterns are used. 



LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Dendron most people obtain water from dug wells, 14 to 20 feet 
deep. There is also a considerable number of driven wells 18 to 20 feet 
deep, the water from which is considered better than that from dug wells. 
Both dug and driven wells get water from sands in the Sunderland for- 
mation. This water is soft and adapted to household use. A well drilled 
some years ago for the Surry Lumber Co. to a depth of 386 feet was 
abandoned as unsuccessful because it did not give a flow. 

At and near Surry Courthouse dug wells average about 20 feet deep. 
Ordinarily they have from 5 to 8 feet of water in them, but in Avet seasons 
some of the shallow ones are filled to the surface. Most of the wells are 
lined with wood, though a few are cased with tile. The following section 
is reported: 

Section at Sunny Courthouse. 



Material 



Soil 

Yellow clay 

Slate-colored, sandy clay 

Varicolored clay, pebbles at 35 feet 

Marl 

White jrravel : water 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


1 


1 


12 


12 


S 


20 


20 


40 


3 


43 


4 


47 



At Claremont, situated on a headland of the Sunderland plain, dug 
wells are from 20 to 40 feet deep. These yield water of varying quality; 
sonic is from shell beds and so hard as to be unsatisfactory for domestic 



SURRY COUNTY 



279 



use. Some of the wells are liable to contamination because of insufficient 
protection at the surface, others because of seepage from old polluted wells 
nearby. In 1906, cisterns were used by fully one-half of the population; 
about one-fifth used wells; the balance used spring water. At some of 
these springs are rams supplying tanks at dwellings. The water is gen- 
erally soft. 

On Homewood plantation on Hog Island in James Eiver are 6 flowing 
wells, all sunk 20 years ago. Their depths are variously stated, but all 
draw on Chesapeake beds. A 6-inch well is said to have been sunk 317 feet, 
and to have struck a strong sulphur water at 270 feet, and a good flow. 40 
gallons per minute, in a shell bed at the bottom. 

The following record of one of the wells has been published by Darton a : 

Record of well at Homewood. 



Material 



Clay and loam 

Gravel with surface water 

Clay, blue below 

Shell marl with hard crust of shell at base, flow of ferruginous 

water at 112 feet 

Marl 

Rock 

Blue clay with flow of water at 222 feet, water better than at 

1 12 feet, and greater flow 

Hard rock _.. 

Black, water-bearing sand: fine water, flow at surface 30 

gallons per minute through 1%-inch pipe, head 40 feet 




Depth 

(Feet) 

15 
25 

85 

112 
220 
22114 

289 
2911/2 

291% 



It is not possible to determine to which of the wells at Homewood this 
record refers. 

A complete analysis from a well in the southeast corner of the planta- 
tion appears in table 8. The water has a faint sulphur odor when fresh. 
The well is said to be 219 feet deep; it may be deeper. 

Another well south of Homewood and 4 miles east of Bacon's Castle 
was sunk for a brickyard, since abandoned. It is said to be 400 feet deep, 
but the water has all the characteristics of the Chesapeake flows. An 
attempt to get a flow at Bacon's Castle was unsuccessful, the elevation of 
the post-office being 84 feet above tide. 

Shallow well conditions at a number of villages in Surry County are 
summarized below : 



f'Darton, X. H.. Op. cit., p. 174. 



280 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Details of shallow wells in Surry County. 



Location 



Alliance 

Anchor 

Bacon's Castle 
Cabin Point . 
Claremont . . . 
Dendron .... 

Elberon 

Hargrave . . . 

Ingenall 

Ruffins 

Savedge 

Scotland .... 

Spottsville . . 

Surry 

Wiedman .... 



Depth of 

well 

(Feet) 



15-40 

12-35 

15-40 
16-30 
40-60 
12-26 



Water bed 



Marl 

Sand 

Sand and marl 

Sand 
Sand and marl 
S h a 1 lo w, clay ; 
deep, clay and 
marl. 



8-25 




20 


Sand 


50 


Marl 


8-40 


Sand and marl 


10-24 


Clay 


60-80 


Iron crusts and 




marl. 


10-80 


Shallow, sand ; 




deep, marl. 


15-40 


Sand, marl 


35-45 


Sand and marl 



Quality of 
water 



Shallow, soft; deep, 

hard. 
Shallow, soft ; deep, 
soft to hard. 
Soft to hard 
Soft to hard 
Hard 
Shallow, soft ; deep, 
hard. 

Fair to good 

Soft 

Hard, cistern 

Deep, hard 

Fair to good 

Limy and irony 

Shallow, soft; deep, 
hard. 

Soft 
Hard 



Conclusions. — Plenty of good water can be had in Surry County by 
dug, driven, or drilled wells. Artesian waters that will rise 20 to 35 feet 
above sea level can be had anywhere. . Their quality will be found excellent 
for most purposes, but toward the east side of the county they may not be 
altogether satisfactory for certain industrial uses. 

At Dendron, where the question of obtaining better water than that 
afforded by shallow wells will demand attention with the growth of the 
town, plenty of water can be had from the basal Chesapeake sands at 300 
feet, or the Pamunkey sands at 550 feet, by 8-inch wells and pumps or 
air-lifts. Plows are impossible. In the swamp along Blackwater Eiver 
south of the town, the Pamunkey waters may rise to surface. Flows are 
impossible at Surry, the elevation of the ground at the Courthouse being 
about 100 feet. By drilled wells and pumps soft alkaline water can be had 
at about 400 feet. 

In case artesian water is sought for town supply at Claremont, a well 
or wells near the foot of the bluff will probably be more satisfactory than 
wells in the center of the town. In the latter situation flows can not be 
had, the altitude being 90 feet, but flows can probably be had near the river 
and it will be more economical to locate a pumping station there than to 
use deep well pumps. 



SUSSEX COUNTY. 281 

SUSSEX COUNTY. 

General description. — Sussex County, formed in 1754 from Surry 
County, is separated from the latter by Blackwater Eiver. It extends from 
Blackwater Eiver to Nottoway and Meherrin rivers, and is about 40 miles 
long from its northeastern to its southwestern corner. The southwestern 
corner of the county lies west of the Piedmont-Coastal Plain boundary. 
The two most important towns are Waverly and Wakefield. 

The topography varies from slightly rugged in the southwest to undu- 
lating in the northeast. The larger portion of the surface is included in 
the Sunderland terrace. The maximum elevation reported is near Jarratt, 
155 feet; the minimum is on the banks of Meherrin Eiver near Emporia, 
25 feet. The general slope of the surface is southeast. Coppahaunk 
Swamp and Warwick Swamp flow northeast to Blackwater Eiver; Joseph's 
Swamp, Stony Creek, Eoaring Creek, Poplar Spring, and Assamoosick 
Swamp flow south or southeast to the Nottoway. 

Geology.— While the Chesapeake (Miocene) clayey sands and marl beds 
underlie practically all the county as far east as the Atlantic Coast Line 
Eailway they are seldom exposed, owing to the coating of Columbia 
(Pleistocene) loams and sands. On the west the St. Mary's formation of 
the Chesapeake overlaps the Potomac beds and rests directly on the crystal- 
line rocks. Its shell or marl beds have been opened by many small pits 
and dug for fertilizer. Pamunkey (Eocene) beds probably underlie the 
Chesapeake east of Sussex but are not known to outcrop anywhere in the 
county. At Boiling's Bridge on Nottoway Eiver is an outcrop of a bed of 
cobbles and pebbles that has been regarded as a basal bed of the Potomac 
group, Lower Cretaceous; it may belong to the Chesapeake. From 
feather edges the Chesapeake and older formations thicken eastward and 
at Wakefield the base of the Chesapeake is probably 300 feet below the sur- 
face, the base of the Pamunkey 50 feet deeper, and the crystalline bed rock 
not less than 700 feet below. The surficial sands, gravels, and loams 
belong to the Sunderland, Wicomico, and Talbot formations of the 
Columbia group. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The abundant ground water in the Columbia 
sands and Chesapeake sands and marls varies in quality from soft to hard. 
and in places is irony. Artesian waters underlie the eastern half of the 
county. Little is known of them, but it is safe to say that they are of ex- 
cellent quality. There are no flowing wells in the county but it is likely 
that some artesian waters will rise to the level of the swamps along Notto- 
way Eiver south of Lumberton. 



282 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Springs. — There are numerous springs and seeps along the rivers and 
their tributaries. Nearly all issue from the white sands which mantle the 
valley slopes and their geologic source can not be determined by inspection. 
Most are of small flow and many fail in droughts. The springs are little 
used except for watering stock. The only one in the county of commercial 
note is the Coppahaunk on Coppahaunk Swamp, about 1% miles south of 
Waverly. It has had considerable repute and is now owned by persons who 
bottle and ship the water. The flow is free, about 25 gallons per minute. 
The water rises through sand* and probably comes from a Chesapeake shell 
bed; it is iron-bearing and is said to have slight sulphur taste when fresh 
from the spring. The following analysis is recomputed from one furnished 
by the company : 

Analysis of water of Coppahaunk Spring, Waverly. 
(Froeliling & Robertson, analysts.) 

Parts per 1.000,000 

Total solids 293 . 

Silica ( SiOo) 23 . 

Iron (Fe) 0.7 

Aluminum ( Al ) 9.9 

Manganese ( Mn ) trace 

Calcium (Ca) 93. 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 1.5 

Strontium (Sr) 0.1 

Barium (Ba) . 15 

Zinc ( Zn ) faint trace 

Sodium ( Na ) 5.4 

Potassium (K) 2.9 

Lithium (Li) 0.19 

Arsenate radicle (AsOj 0.034 

Phosphate radicle (P0 4 ) 0. 12 

Carbonate radicle ( C0 3 ) 143 . 

Sulphate radicle ( S0 4 ) 1.6 

Iodine ( I ) trace 

Bromine ( Br ) trace 

Chlorine (CI) 11. 

Wells. — Dug wells, generally cased with wood, are the main source of 
supply at most farms, and in many villages. The cost of digging these is 
low. There are some bored wells and at Waverly and Wakefield many 
driven wells. Xo deep drilled wells are reported. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Wakefield there are a few dug wells and over 75 driven wells, the 
latter from li» to 22 feet deep. They get soft water in sands underlying 
loam. A peanut mill gets water from an 80 horsepower tubular boiler from 



SUSSEX COUNTY. 



283 



two dug wells about 15 feet deep. The supply is fairly good for boiler use 
though it has a tendency to form scale. (See table 7.) 

At Waverly, where are large lumber mills, nearly all the water for both 
boiler and domestic supply is obtained from driven wells, which range in 
depth from 15 to 35 feet. Dug wells which strike the first water bed at 15 
feet sometimes fill to the top and are liable to pollution. The water from 
the second sand, at 30 to 35 feet, is preferred by those persons who have 
had wells driven to it, and is certainly less liable to pollution than that 
from 15 feet. In fact, in 1906, this 35-foot water was as good as need be, 
as no dug wells had been sunk deep enough to permit direct pollution of 
the water bed. The yields to pumps are remarkable. One 35-foot well, 2 
inches in diameter, is stated to give 30 gallons per minute, while at the 
plant of the J. D. Gray Lumber Co., 2 wells furnish water enough for 
250 horsepower. As a boiler water, though considered hard, it seems satis- 
factory, forming very little scale. Its quality is indicated by a field assay 
in table 7. 

The expense for a 35-foot well at Waverly is slight. A 2-inch pipe can 
be driven for about $5, and the well equipped with a pitcher pump costs 
about $10. 

Information collected regarding dug wells at various places in the 
county is summarized as follows : 

Details of dug wells in Sussex County. 



Location 



Airland 
Booker . 



Comans Well 

Hilda 

Jarratt 
Lumberton . 



Masons . 
Peanut . . 

Westhope 



Depth of 
well 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


(Feet) 






20-60 


Clav 


Irony 


10-30 


Shallow, clay : 
deep, "b la c k 
mud." 


Soft 


15-30 


Clay 


Fair, good 


10-50 


Sand, marl 


Soft and hard 


12-30 


Gravel 


Soft 


6-30 


Shallow, sand ; 
deep, clay or 
marl. 


Soft and hard 


7-35 
15-20 




Soft 


Loam 


Soft 


8-40 


Sand and clav 


Soft 



At Jarratt some wells dug for boiler supply are 16 feet square and 20 
feet deep. 



284 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN" PROVINCE. 

WARWICK COUNTY. 

General description. — Warwick County, one of the smallest counties in 
the State, was one of the eight original shires of the colony of Virginia. It 
lies along the north bank of James Eiver near the end of "the peninsula." 

The topography is somewhat diversified though the relief is not great. 
The northern part of the county lies within the Sunderland terrace which 
has an elevation of 86 feet at Halstead's Point, in the extreme northern 
corner. The greater part of the county is included in lower terraces. The 
lowest plain includes Mulberry Island. The city of Newport News stands 
on two terraces. 

Geology. — Columbia (Pleistocene) sands and loams mantle the surface. 
On the lower terraces are local lenses of clay that have been worked for 
brick on Mulberry Island and at Morrison. At Newport News dark bluish 
mud containing cypress stumps and bluish sand containing marine shells 
outcrop in the river bluff beneath gray pebbly sands. 

Clayey sands and beds of shell marl mostly belonging to the Yorktown 
formation of the Chesapeake group (Miocene) are exposed in the creek 
valleys. The total thickness of the Chesapeake at Halsteads Point is about 
450 feet, and at Newport News about 550 feet, its base lying 400 to 550 feet 
below sea level. The Pamunkey (Eocene), Upper Cretaceous, and Potomac 
(Lower Cretaceous) lie below the Chesapeake. The base of the Pamunkey 
is about 600 feet below tide at Halsteads Point, and 700 feet below at New- 
port News. Evidence as to the thickness of the Upper Cretaceous is contra- 
dictory. The base of the Potomac lies over 2,000 feet below tide at New- 
port News. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality* — The ground waters in the Columbia and 
Chesapeake beds show the usual variations in quality; here soft and clear, 
there hard and irony. Depths to the water table differ considerably, and 
where it rises to the surface after prolonged rains, as on flat stretches, the 
quality of the ground water is not considered so good as where the water 
table lies deeper. 

An abundance of artesian water underlies the county but that so far 
developed is rather highly mineralized, the mineralization increasing to- 
ward the southeast. This increased mineralization is due in part to the 
water-bearing sands growing finer, and as a result yields to wells and heads 
of flows are least in the wells farthest down the river. 

Springs. — There are no springs of especial importance in Warwick 
( 'ounty, but a few are still used for household supply. The smaller springs 



WARWICK COUNTY. 285 

seep from Columbia sands; the larger flow from shell beds in the York- 
town formation. The waters of the latter are apt to be hard. Some of the 
larger springs are so situated that they can be advantageously developed 
by rams. 

Wells. — Dug wells are chiefly used. There are a few drilled wells along 
James Eiver. Near Newport News there are numerous driven wells and 
a few at other places in the county. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

The Newport News Water & Power Co. supplies the city of Newport 
News with water from a watershed it owns. Practically every one in New- 
port News uses this water, though on the outskirts of the city are shallow, 
driven and dug wells which obtain supplies, in some instances of suspicious 
purity, from Columbia sands. Attempts to get artesian water at Newport 
News have been mentioned. (See page 97.) The artesian wells in the 
county are all near James Eiver. There are two on Mulberry Island, one 
at Mulberry Island post-office, the other at Curtis Point. Both of these 
wells probably get water from sands in the Chesapeake group at 360 to 380 
feet below mean high tide. The owner of the well at the post-office has 
shipped more or less of the water to Newport News and Norfolk. It is 
soft, clear and refreshing, and has some local repute for medicinal 
properties. The accompanying analysis furnished by the owner, but recom- 
puted to standard form, shows the large proportion of bicarbonate of soda 
characteristic of artesian wells in other parts of the Virginia Coastal Plain. 

Analysis of water from well of P. H. Wright, Mulberry Island. 

(W. H. Taylor, analyst.) 

Parts per 1,000,000 

Silica (Si0 2 ) 13.0 

Iron ( Fe ) trace 

Calcium (Ca) 4.2 

Magnesium ( Mg ) 1.2 

Sodium (Na) 354.0 

Potassium ( K) 15 . 

Lithium ( Li ) trace 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) 454.0 

Sulphate radicle (SOJ 44.0 

Chlorine (CI) 273.0 

The well at Curtis Point is of interest from its location and the quality 
of the water. In the latter respect it resembles the well at Mulberry Island 
post-office, but the water is more mineralized. A complete analysis appears 
in table 8. 



286 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

At attempt to get a flow at Menchville on the mainland opposite Curtis 
Point proved unsuccessful, possibly because of the well being started on too 
high ground, as the head of the flow at Curtis Point is only about 20 feet 
above sea level. A well at Lee Hall 406 feet deep reaches a sand having 
about the same stratigraphic position as that yielding flows on Mulberry 
Island. The elevation of the well is 42 feet and the water rises within 12 
feet of the surface. 

Conditions reported from some of the places in Warwick County, where 
dug or driven wells are the sources of domestic supply, are summarized 
herewith : 

Details of shallow wells in Warwick County. 



Location 


Depth of 
well 

(Feet) 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


Denbigh 


25-30 


Clay and sand 


Soft, hard 




30-50 


Sand and marl 


Hard and irony in 
deep wells 


Lee Hall 


18-25 


Sand 


Soft 


Menchville 


10-31 


Sand 


Soft 


Mulberry Island 


10-15 


Sand 


Soft, irony 



Conclusions. — The wells already drilled indicate that from the Chesa- 
peake sands under Warwick County, moderate heads, 20 to 30 feet, and fair 
flows at the northwest end of the county with diminishing yields and increas- 
ing mineralization southeastward, may be expected. Slightly higher heads 
and freer flows can probably be had from deeper sands in the Pamunkey, 
Upper Cretaceous, or Potomac, but heads over 35 feet above tide are not 
to be expected, nor is there any reason to expect much improvement in 
quality with depth. Water much better adapted to ordinary household use 
than the supplies obtained from some shallow wells at many places can be 
had west of Curtis Point. Farther east the outlook becomes increasingly 
dubious. Prospects in the immediate vicinity of Newport News have 
already been discussed. (See pages 97 to 116.) 



WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 

General description. — Westmoreland County lies south of Potomac 
River on the "northern neck." The topography is characterized by high 
terraces with undulating surfaces sharply cut by creek gorges and com- 
paratively level lower terraces. Some of the creeks flowing to Rappa- 
hannock River head within a mile or two of the Potomac. Some of those 
flowing toward the Potomac empty into tidal inlets or rivers, such as 
Xomini River and Yeocomico River. 



WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 287 

Elevations on the Sunderland terrace range from 160 feet in the 
vicinity of Bainesville to 110 feet back of Kinsale. Near Bainesville is a 
small area above the general level of the Sunderland, and there is another 
near Stratford. These areas may be remnants of the Lafayette terrace. 
Lower Columbia terraces are traceable along Potomac River. A striking 
feature of the topography of Westmoreland County are the famous JSTomini 
Cliffs which extend for nearly 10 miles along the Potomac between Popes 
Creek and Currioman Bay. These cliffs in places are 200 feet high. Along 
Rappahannock River below Wilmont Landing are conspicuous cliffs, in 
places over 100 feet high. 

Geology. — The loams, cobble beds, sands, and gravels of the Columbia 
formations outcrop in many road cuts and in the river cliffs. The lower 
formations of the Chesapeake group (Miocene) are exposed in many places. 
Over 200 feet of the Calvert are visible in the Nomini Cliffs and the diato- 
maceous clays of the formation are to be seen in the cliffs on Rappahannock 
River. The base of the Calvert is near tide level on the western edge of 
the county, while at the mouth of Yeocomico River at Lynch 7 s Point it is 
350 feet below. The greensands, clays, and shell beds of the Aquia and 
Nanjemoy formations of the Pamunkey (Eocene) have a total thickness 
of about 250 feet, and the base of the Pamunkey is 300 to 550 feet below 
river level. Little is definitely known of the thickness and extent of the 
Upper Cretaceous beds. The Potomac group may be 500 to 1,000 feet 
thick and the crystalline bed rock probably lies from 1,000 to 1,500 feet 
below tide. 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The Columbia formation and the top beds 
of the Chesapeake group carry ground water within the county limits. 
Near the edges of the highest terrace the water table is 30 to 60 feet 
below the surface and fluctuates slightly. On flat stretches of the same 
plain it may fluctuate 15 to 20 feet and rise to the surface after a wet 
season. The quality of the water varies from soft to irony or hard. 
Shallow water in the Chesapeake beds is at many places hard. 

Sands in the Chesapeake, Pamunkey, and Potomac groups are known 
to contain artesian water. As the beds dip east the depths to the sands in- 
crease in going down the river. At the west end of the county the Chesa- 
peake beds are little below tide level and do not give flows ; east of Mount 
Holly most wells draw on them. The sands most widely developed are at 
the base of the Calvert formation. Higher sands supply wells at the east 
end of the county. The Nanjemoy sands have been reached by relatively 
few wells east of Colonial Beach. The heads of the flows vary but the 
waters most developed had heads of 15 to 30 feet above tide. All the waters 



288 UNDERGROUND WATEE EESOUECES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

sampled from wells reaching Chesapeake or Pamunkey sands were soft and 
alkaline. 

Springs. — Small seeps and springs that feed the creeks flowing to 
Potomac Eiver are fonnd throughout the count}'. So numerous are they 
that as one man expressed it, a spring can he had on any hillside by a little 
work with a hoe. A few springs, such as those of E. 0. Costenbader near 
Kemus, and Wm. Taylor, opposite Kinsale, furnish drinking water or 
water for household supply; many are so situated that they can be 
developed to advantage by rams. From no spring is water marketed and 
none is a resort. 

Wells. — On high ground dug wells curbed with wood are the chief 
source of domestic supply. Some of these wells are poorly located and very 
liable to pollution. On the high terraces wells are from 20 to 60 feet deep, 
on the lower terraces they are seldom over 40 feet and the average depth is 
under 20 feet. There are some bored arid some driven wells, and along the 
river and the tidal courses of the creeks are many drilled wells of small 
diameter. The cost of these to the owner has averaged between 25 and 40 
cents a foot. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

No town in the Virginia Coastal Plain has benefited more from the 
development of artesian water than Colonial Beach. The first deep well 
was drilled in 1887. Before that all persons, and for some years afterward 
many persons, drank the water obtained by shallow wells 6 to 15 feet deep, 
and as a rule poorly protected. Typhoid fever obtained a foothold and was 
in some years epidemic. Since the substitution of artesian for dug wells 
typhoid has practically disappeared. 

Nearly all the artesian wells reach a greensand in the Aquia formation 
of the Pamunkey, about 200 feet below river level. According to the driller, 
who sunk many of the wells in town, none of those reaching this sand is over 
220 feet deep. The sand is immediately overlain by some 10 feet or so of 
red or chocolate-colored clay. The sections reported vary, but the follow- 
ing may be taken as an average : 

Generalized section at Colonial Beach. 
Material 



Soil and sandy loam 

Yellow to buff clay 

Gravel and sand 

Blue marl, black sand, dark clay, shells 

White clay 

Red and chocolate-colored clay not over 10 feet thick on beach 
Rather fine <?reen or black sand, water bed 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


8 


8 


4 


12 


7 


19 


150 


169 


2 


171 


10 


181 


20 


201 



WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 



289 



Some wells pass through "rock" 8 to 10 inches thick in the blue marl 
at 150 feet. Most of the wells are 1% inches in diameter and were sunk 
by hand rigs. Prices for drilling have been $50 to $75, according to care 
in placing casing, etc. 

The water from the 200-foot wells as it comes from the same horizon 
varies little in quality. It has a slight sulphur odor and is decidedly alkaline 
(see field assays, table 9). It is used for all purposes. As a boiler water 
it has a tendency to foam and pit tubes. 

At the ice plant where a well to the 200- to 225-foot sands gave an 
insufficient supply, a well to a sand in the Potomac group found plentv of 
good water. The driller reported the following log: 

Record of well at Ice Plant, Colonial Beacli. 
(Authority, Roland Rude, driller.) 



Material 



Made land 

Yellow clay 

White clay 

Green marl 

Black earth with sand 

Rocks in coarse brown sand, a little water . 
Black earth with large grains of heavy sand 
White clay, with some very soft streaks . . 

Red clay 

White sand with plenty of water 



Thickness 


Depth 


(Feet) 


(Feet) 


6 


6 


13 


19 


2 


21 


39 


60 


140 


200 


100 


300 


50 


350 


50 


400 


15 


415 


/ 


422 



The well is 1% inches in diameter, the flow is 6 gallons per minute at 
an elevation of 5 feet. 

Outside the thickly settled portion of the Beach there are still wells of 
good flow to the 200-foot sand. One of the best is that of the McGinnis 
estate at the south end of town, which when dug floAved about 3 gallons per 
minute at an elevation of 9 feet above high tide. 

Xorth of the Beach at Wilkerson's Wharf are two wells, 233 and 235 
feet, respectively, flowing 3% and 1% gallons per minute at elevations of 
4 and 7 feet above tide water. The wells are said to have struck the Beach 
flow at 214 feet but found it a mere drip. After going through 10 feet of 
white sand and "rock/' the latter in layers 1 to 10 inches thick, and 20 
feet of "red clay," the present flow was struck which rose 40 feet above 
sea level and gave 5 gallons per minute. 

At L. C. Handy's, west of Wilkerson's, is a well that has a measured 
head of 22 feet, and flows into a tank about 20 feet above mean high tide. 
An attempt made to get a flow at an elevation of 30 feet above tide was 
unsuccessful though the well was sunk 471 feet, according to the driller. 



20 



290 WDERGKOUXD WATEE EESOUBCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

In the vicinity of Erica the sands that yield waters to the wells near 
the head of Nomini River are apparently too fine to give flows, and several 
wells have gone to sands in the Pamnnkey at reported depths of from 300 
to 350 feet. One at the post-office, elevation abont 20 feet, is said to be 
336 feet deep and to have flowed in 1902 when drilled. In 1906 the water 
stood abont 3 feet below surface. 

A mile east of Maple Grove and some 3 miles west of Colonial Beach, 
a well was drilled in 1905, for Floyd Omohundro, on the Wicomico terrace 
at an elevation of 60 feet. This well fonnd water in white sand, which rose 
to about 40 feet of surface. The well is cased for only about 40 feet, and, 
according to Mr. Omohundro, since it was drilled there has been a change 
in the quality and yield of the water in his dug well, 45 feet deep, about 20 
feet distant, indicating that the artesian water finds its way into the 
dug well. 

At or near Kinsale, on Yeocomico River and its inlets, a considerable 
number of flowing wells have been put down. Those at Kinsale are said to 
range in depth from 238 to 275 feet, most of them striking a water-bearing 
sand in the Calvert formation at 245 feet. The heads average about 17 
feet above mean high tide, and the flows at an elevation of 6 feet are about 
4 gallons per minute through a 1%-inch pipe. The water, which has a 
slight sulphur odor, is used at canning factories and also for drinking. In 
a boiler it works fairly well, not pitting the tubes, but having a tendency to 
foam. At the canning factories it is the custom to blow off some of the 
water. in a boiler, one or two gages, several times a week. The general 
character of the water is indicated by the field assays in table 8. 

North of Kinsale on Sandy Point Farm, the 5,000-acre estate of J. R. 
Dos Passos, of New York, there are no less than 15 flowing wells. Many 
of them are at tenants' houses and were intended to furnish pure water 
for domestic use, the supplies from shallow wells having, it was thought, 
caused malarial disorders. A marked improvement in the health of those 
using artesian water is claimed. The following log was furnished by the 
driller : 

General record of wells near Sandy Point. 
(Authority, F. H. Jones, driller.) 



Material 



Depth 
(Feet) 



Loam 

White sand 

Blue clay (called fullers earth) 

Marl and layers of shells 

Thin layers of rock about 2 feet apart, with sand between 
Black sand, water-bearing 




This water has the general characteristics of the flows at Kinsale as 
shown by the field assay in table 8. 



WESTMORELAND COUXTY 



291 



At Sandy Point farm on the river shore at Lynch Point, is a flowing 
well bnt 90 feet deep which may tap a sand in the St. Mary's formation of 
the Che'sapeake. The head of the flow is about 3 feet above high tide. The 
water decidedly differs from the deeper flows; it contains more iron and 
lime, as shown by field assay (table 7), and is little used. In a way the 
well resembles in low head and quality of flow some of the wells in Accomac 
County. 

Near rTomini Eiver there are flowing wells at Mount Holty, Hinnom, 
Bear's Wharf, McGuire's Wharf, and Erica. Most of them draw on the 
Calvert sands of the Chesapeake group. The well at Mount Holly is 150 
feet deep and flows, at an elevation of 9 feet above tide, about 5 ( ?) gallons 
per minute through a l^-inch pipe. A field assay of the water is given in 
table 8. Some of the wells on Nomini Eiver tap deeper sands, if reported 
depths are trustworthy, but the waters are much alike. Most of the wells 
have cost $40 each. 

At Oak Grove, on the Wicomico terrace, several attempts to get artesian 
flows have failed, owing to the elevation of the surface, 60 feet. Some wells 
at Oak Grove, at 25 to 30 feet deep, are poorly situated and continually 
liable to pollution. 

Two miles southeast of Oak Grove an attempt to get a flow at the resi- 
dence of Andrew Flanner failed because of the elevation, though the well 
went down 664 feet. Mr. Flanner has a dug well 63 feet deep that gets 
water in Chesapeake sands. 

Data collected regarding dug wells at a number of villages in Westmore- 
land County is summarized as follows: 

Details of dug wells in Westmoreland County. 



Location 



Bainesville 

Erica 

Hague 

Homers 

Index 

Kinsale 

Leedstown 

Machadoc : . 

Maplegrove 

Meter 

Montross 

Oldhams 

Potomac Mills 

Rollins Fork 

Remus 

Templeman Cross Roads 

Tuckerhill 

White Point 

Zacata 



Depth of 
wells 

(Feet) 



35-60 
12-18 
35-40 
20-45 
30-45 
15-25 
14-20 
12-30 
30-60 

15 
30-50 
18-60 
15-30 
30-50 
30-80 
25-35 
16-60 
18-20 
15-40 



Water bed 



Sand and clay 
Sand and marl 
Sand and gravel 

Sand 
Sand and gravel 
Sand and marl 

Sand 

Sand 

Sand 

Sand 

Sand 

Clay 
Sand and marl 

Sand 

Sand 

Sand 

Sand 
Clay and sand 

Clay 



Quality of 
water 



Soft to hard 

' Soft ' 

Soft 

Soft 

Soft to hard 

Soft 



Soft 

Hard 

Soft, hard 

Soft 
Soft to hard 

Soft 
Good 

Soft 
Good 

Soft 
hard 



Deep, 

low, soft. 



shal- 



292 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Conclusions. — The volume of flows obtainable by carefully cased wells 
from the artesian sands under Westmoreland County, the quality of the 
water, its superiority to the supplies obtained by many dug wells,' and its 
freedom from disease germs, are reasons for more extensive development 
of these sands. Flows are not to be expected at points more than 35 feet 
above sea level, but higher heads than those found in the artesian sands 
nearest surface, can be obtained by deeper drilling. 

At Oak Grove, soft water free from disease germs can be had by pumps 
from wells to the Calvert sands at 250 feet, or the Potomac at 450 feet. 
The water from the latter will rise to about 25 feet of surface. 

At Montross the water from the Pamunkey sands, to be reached at 400 
feet, will rise to about 70 feet of the level of the Courthouse. In Kinsalc, 
flows at the elevation of the higher ground in the village are impossible ; 
wells to the Pamunkey sands at 500 feet may rise fully 30 feet above the 
river. 

YORK COUNTY. 

General description. — York County, one of the original shires of Vir- 
ginia, lies along the south side of York Eiver on -"the peninsula/ 7 of which 
it covers the larger portion. The surface of the county is diversified by 
tributaries of York Eiver, the more important creeks being Ware, 
Scimmins, King and Queen, which cut back into the several Columbia 
terraces. The greatest elevation of the Sunderland terrace, at the north- 
western corner of the county, is about 110 feet. 

Geology. — The Columbia formations form the soils over most of the 
county. Xo formations older than those of the Chesapeake group are 
visible. Along York Eiver the St. Mary's and Yorktown formations out- 
crop, and at Yorktown, the type locality of the latter, and 3 miles up stream 
the bluffs are full of shells. Firm rock composed almost wholly of ground- 
up shells makes the base of the bluff at Yorktown. The bottom of the 
Chesapeake group lies 180 feet below tide water in the northwestern corner 
of the county, and 550 feet below in the vicinity of Messick. The 
Pamunkey (Eocene) greensands and clays which underlie the Chesapeake 
formations are about 100 to 200 feet thick. Their base is approximately 
100 to 800 feet below sea level. Upper Cretaceous beds undoubtedly under- 
lie the Pamunkey, but their thickness is undetermined. The base of the 
Potomac (Lower Cretaceous) group lies possibly 1,200 feet below tide 
water in the northwestern part of the county and 2,300 feet below in the 
southeastern. The total thickness of the group in the eastern part of the 
county is fully 1,300 feet. 



YORK COUNTY. 293 

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

Distribution and quality. — The Columbia formations all carry more or 
less ground water, the depth to the water table, the yield to wells, and the 
quality of the water differ with the location of the wells. Wells on high 
ground, away from a terrace seep or creek valley, obtain soft water from 
the Sunderland or Wicomico sands within 20 feet of surface; other wells 
may go 40 feet to water. On the sands of the lowest terrace, east of York- 
town, wells are only 8 to 15 feet deep. The water is mostly soft but in 
places is iron-bearing, and under marshy tracts along tidal inlets is 
brackish. Dug wells on this terrace sometimes fill to the top. Where, near 
terrace scarps or stream valleys, the sands of the higher terraces are thin or 
contain little water, dug wells go through them and obtain ground water 
from the Yorktown or St. Mary^s formation. This water is at many places 
hard or irony. 

Artesian waters underlie the whole county. The sands in the Calvert 
formation of the Chesapeake group, in the Nanjemoy formation of the 
Pamunkey, and in still lower formations, have been tapped by wells on the 
north bank of York River, but, according to reported depths of wells, only 
those in the Chesapeake group have been developed in York County. 

The supplies obtained are of good volume, heads range up to 30 feet, 
and the quality is generally satisfactory, the mineralization being greatest 
in the wells farthest clown stream. A slight sulphur odor and a high pro- 
portion of bicarbonate of soda are the prevailing characteristics. 

Springs. — Seeps and small springs from Columbia sands feed creeks 
that flow to York Eiver. but are of little economic importance. Most of 
the larger springs flow from shell beds in the Chesapeake group ; a few are 
used for household suppty, and some of these can be used to better advan- 
tage by rams. 

^YelJs. — There are many driven wells, and a few drilled wells less than 
100 feet deep, on the low expanses of the Talbot terrace in the southeast 
end of the county ; there are a few deep drilled wells along York Eiver ; 
elsewhere dug wells are used to reach underground waters. The relatively 
small number of drilled wells is a result of the small amount of low ground 
on the south bank of the river, most buildings being on high ground. 

LOCAL SUPPLIES. 

At Yorktown there were in 1906 but 3 dug wells; one on the bluff is 60 
feet deep, the two others at lower elevation are 10 and 14 feet deep, 



294 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



respective^. All three go into shell beds and yield hard water. Cisterns are 
the usual source of domestic supply. A drilled well on the beach, 750 feet 
deep, yields 1 gallon per minute through a 1-inch pipe. The water is con- 
sidered good. 

At Messick a drilled well 60 feet deep found a flow of slightly irony 
water in sands lying either at the base of the Columbia or the top of the 
Chesapeake group. Particulars of the wells drilled along York Eiver and 
its tributary creeks above Yorktown are summarized in table 5. They draw 
on sands tapped by wells across the river in Gloucester County. 

One of the more notable wells is that of A. Gr. Harwood. This well is 
400 feet deep and the flow has a head of over 20 feet. 

Conditions reported from a number of places in York County that rely 
on dug wells are summarized in the following table : 

Details of dug wells in York County. 



Location 


Depth of 
well 

(Feet) 


Water bed 


Quality of 
water 


Grafton 


16 
20-60 

8-15 

25-50 


Sand and marl 
Shallow, sand ; 
deep, marl. 

Sand 
Sand and marl 


Hard 




Hard 


Messick 


Soft to brackish 


Oaktree 


Soft to hard 







Conclusions. — The artesian water prospects in York County vary from 
good to poor. In the western part of the county good flows can be obtained 
from Chesapeake, Pamunkey, and Potomac sands down to 1,000 feet or 
more below sea level, and the resources are practically inexhaustible. 
Farther east, as indicated by deep drilling in Warwick County to the south, 
and in Gloucester County to the north, the Calvert sands probably grow 
fine or clayey; they yield little water, and this contains a decidedly high 
proportion of solids in solution. 

At Yorktown the same sand that is tapped at Gloucester Point yielded 
little water and the flows from the sands reached by the 750-foot well on the 
beach were disappointingly small. Stronger flows may perhaps be had by 
going deeper, but the water will not be any better. Heads will not be over 
:50 feet above tide and to raise the water to the top of the bluff pumping 
will be necessary. 

On the low ground that begins 4 miles below Yorktown the same con- 
ditions probably prevail as in the east end of Gloucester County. Fair 
water, that will rise 2 or 3 feet above tide, may be found in the Yorktown 



TABULATED WELL DATA. 295 

formation by wells 80 to 100 feet deep; but little or no water will be 
found in the lower half of the Chesapeake, or in the Pamunkey. Deeper 
drilling will find flows in Upper Cretaceous or Potomac beds, but the 
water will be highly mineralized and at the wells farthest east decidedly 
saline. There is no reason to believe that better water will be found below 
1,000 feet than above that depth. It probably will not pay to try to 
develop the sands in the Potomac group anywhere in the low ground below 
the scarp that runs across the peninsula from Newport News to 4 miles 
east of Yorktown. 

TABULATED WELL DATA. 

The following table (5) summarizes the information collected by 
correspondence and field work in regard to a large number of wells in the 
Tidewater region of Virginia. The list is very far from being complete, 
no attempt having been made to procure information regarding every well 
or even a majority of the wells at places where much drilling has been 
done, such as Colonial Beach, West Point, and Franklin. The depths, 
heads, and yields printed are in general correct, but some, because they 
were given from memory by owners, well drillers and others, are little 
better than guesses. Where figures reported by different persons varied, 
the more probable figures were taken. The authority for 'the items relat- 
ing to each well is shown by the letters in the fifth column of the table, 
O standing for owner, D for driller, and M for miscellaneous — some third 
party — in many instances the local postmaster. 

In tables 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are assembled available analyses and field 
assays of water from some of the wells listed in table 5. Information regard- 
ing the mineral constituents of the water from some of the springs men- 
tioned is segregated in table 6. 

Attention is called to the fact that some of the assays and analyses are 
more reliable than others, but the writer has not attempted to designate 
those that he considers the most carefully made. As regards the field assays, 
which are distinguished by (F) after the name of the analyst in the last 
column of each of the tables, they were made with the apparatus devised by 
the IT. S. Geological Survey. 0, The determinations practicable with this 
apparatus differ widely in accuracy. The writer's experience is that the 
determination of chlorine can be made with most precision, and that the 
accuracy of the determinations of iron, calcium, sulphates, or total hardness 
may be seriously impaired by substances in solution interfering with the 
reaction that should normally take place. 



oLeighton, M. O., Field Assay of Water, U. S. Geol. Survey, W. S. Paper 151, 
1905, pp. 27-75. 



296 UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 

Results of all analyses and field assays are stated in parts per million 
and in ionic form. Thus, a water containing dilute solutions of bicarbonate 
of lime, bicarbonate of soda, sulphate of soda, sulphate of potash, and 
chloride of soda (common salt) has its composition indicated by so many 
parts per million of calcium (Ca), sodium (Xa), potassium (K), bicar- 
bonates (HC0 3 ), sulphates (S0 4 ), and chlorides (CI). 



TABLES OF ANALYSES OF WELL AND 
SPRING WATERS 



298 



I NDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 



Tare]: 5— Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



( ounty 

and 

Postoffice 



T3 

C 
o 

.2 c 

o <» 

o O 

±i — 



Owner 



Driller 









>. 








o 




-ij 




OS 












X 




c 








B8 




v 


: 




XJ 


o 


— 


•u 


= 


S 


< 


ft 



T3 




£> 






DO 




•o 




to 


O 


X5 


4J 




03 






o 




-u 




c3 


a 


£ 


c. 








a 


J 



a 






c 




o 










+3 


s 


® +2 


9 


C3 


K 


p 


P 



ACCOMAC 

Accomac 



near 



B. Clark. 



Benj. T. Melson I 

Accomac >2mi.E. L. L. Tiffany 

Belinda i/>nii.E. M. E. Hall |l. B. Clark 

Belinda y 2 mi.E. M. E. Hall J. W. T. Robertson 

Belinda Near Hall & Rose [. B. Clark 

Belinda y 2 mi. S. J. D. Bull 

I'.: 11. haven C. S. Witham & Bros 

Bellchaven D. R. Mister 



near 
near 



Bellehaven ... 

Bloxom 

Boggs 

Bogga 

• lashville 

Cashville 

( lashville 

Cashville 

Cashville 

( lashville 

( lashville 

< lashville 

( '.ohville 

< Ihesconnessex 

« Ihesconnessex 

( 'hesconnessex 

( Ihincoteague Is 

( 'hincoteague Is 

< Iraddockville 

i raddockvllle 

Idockville 

Craddockville 

i'.:\ is Wharf 

Pinney near 

Finney 

Finney 

Pinney 

Fox Island 

Franklin City... near 

Gratons %mi.N.E 

i iratons 

Gratons 

Harborton ... 
Harborton ... 
Harborton ... 
HarbortoD ... 
Harborton ... 
Harborton 
Harborton ... 
Harborton ... 
Hall wood .... 

Hall wood 

Hallwood 

Hallwood 

Hallwood 

Hopkins 



C. F. Chase 

Guilford Church YV. McK. Taylor. 

II. Battail I. B. Clark 



1904 

M 1899 

O 1902 

O 1899 

M llir 



Ft. Ft. In. Ft. 



Ft. Ft. 



F. C. Taylor.. 
E. M. Boggs. 
H. R. Boggs.. 
H. R. Boggs & Bro. 



M 



M 
M 
Oi 

I. B. Clark |0! 

J. W. T. Robertson :0 
J. W. T. Robertson 
J. YV. T. Robertson O 
J. W. T. Robertson M 

Bailey East D 

.1. \Y. T. Robertson O 
W. T. Robertson O 
W. T. Robertson O 
\\ . T. Robertson O 



24 
2 
2 
6 
2 



50 2 
100 | 2 
68 1% 



50 15,35 
100 



3901 



near 
near 
near 
near 
near 
near 



near 
near 



Broadway Baptist Church 

S. Crockett 

\Y . S . Finney 

T. W. Scott 

T. W. Scott I J 

T. W. Scott j 

Bailey East Bailey East 

J. L. Savage [. b. Clark D 

F. Jenkins j. yy. T. Robertson.. M 

United States 

James Williams James Williams 

Thos. J. Custis i. b. Clark O 

G. B. Mason J. \Y. T. Robertson. . 

L. J. Melson j. \y. t. Robertson.. 

L. J. Melson r. B. Clark D 

S. J. Bull j. YV. T. Robertson., 

Susan A. Finney M 

W. F. Rogers J\ YV. T. Robertson O 

Mears r. B. Clark D 

S . F . Rogers 

Wm. Ellinger j. w. T. Robertson O 

Wm. B. Powell p. T. Mumford 

W. A. Bloxom F. T. Mumford O 

J. YV. YYeasells F. T. Mumford O 

E. D. Groton F. T. Mumford 

J. YV. Adams jr. YV. Adams D 

W. H. B. Custis r. W. Adams D 

Allen & Scnnen M 

S. K. Martin I. B. Clark D 

Martin & Mason Co J. YV. T. Robertson O 

Geo. Moore J. W. Adams D 

W . K. Reed J. W. Adams D 

r. W. Walker J 

\\ i '-ley Bloxom T 

Win. T. Bloxom J 

James A. Hall I, 

New York. Philadelphia 

& Norfolk R. R 

James W. Tailor 

John Bames J. W. T. Robertson 



1906 
1904 
1902 
1902 
1904 
1904 

1902' 

1902 

1904 

1906 

1905 

1903 

1901 

1S85? 

Is! "I 

1902 
3902 
3900 
3904 
1902 
3899 
3903 
390G 



30 
8 
8 
6 
6 

12 



2 

2 

iy 2 

5 

I 

3 

5 

2% 

6 

4 

7y 2 



iy 2 
iy 2 



84 



86 
320 

60 

105 

150 

150 

101 

97 

90 

110 

112 

100 

97 

87 

90 

137 

103 

90 

135 

70 

62 

60 

140 

175 

105 

90 

83 



2 
1% 



40 



1% 

1% 320 

1% 

1% 

31/2 350 

3y 2 350 
31/2 101 
iy 2 97 



1, 16 



iy 2 
iy 2 
1% 

iy 2 87 

iy 2 90 

I 1 -. L37|40, 75,100 

1% 

m\ 

2 
1% 

iy 2 
2 



90 



iy 2 340 
3i/ 2 373 

2V 2 

3% 90 
3^' 2 83 
1% 



3903 
3 004 




60 



YV. Adams D 

W. Adams I) 

W. T. Robertson D 
B. Clark 



3904 33 

3904 30 

3904 30 

3905 8 
3900 8 ; 
3882 6 

3903 ioy 2 

3903 2 
1900 8 
3905 S 
3905 8 
1904 
3906 



5 
7 
3903 10 



76 
73 
151 
160 
100 
149 
144 
148 
137 
140 
174 
139 
145 
150 
103 
186 



1% 

31/2 70 
1% 353 



36.38 
80 



1902 



30 35-60 
10 340 
325 1V 2 325 



50 



330 

60 

300 

97 



iy 2 

iy 2 no 130 

3321 

300 300 

97 



(>0 12,22 60 

60 20 



340 
105 



83 
83 



iy 2 
iy 2 
1% 
1% 
1% 
iy 2 
3y 2 
31/2 
1% 
iy 2 


160 
100 


85 

75 


13* 






55 








137 
140 


35, 128 

35. 32S 


94 

100 

60 


139 
145 







55 
55 










1% 


20 


330, 150 




1U 












WELL DATA. 



299 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 


a 

OS 
CD 

s 

CD 

> 

o 

-Q 
03 

u 
(1) 
+i 

03 

o-^ 

w 


Yield per 
minute 


03 

a 
B 


Quality 


Uses 


Material 


Group 
or 

formation 


Plow 


Pump 




• 


Columbia 

Columbia (?)... . 

Columbia (?).... 


Ft. 

+17 
+10 
+10 
+2 

flows 


Gal. 

1% 



Gal. 

5 

2 


OTjl 

58* 
59 


Soft 


Domestic and stock 






Drinking and stock 
Washing oysters 
Abandoned 


Sand and shells . 


Hard, brackish, irony 


Sand and shells . 








Hard , brackish , irony 


Washing oysters 
Domestic 










Soft 














Chesapeake (?).. 


+5 
+4 










Domestic and can- 


Sand . 










ning factory 












Drinking 




Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?).. 
Chesapeake (?).. 
Chesapeake (?). . 
Columbia (?).... 


+8 
+8 
+5 
+4 








Soft 

Soft 

Slightly sulphur and iron-bearing 

Slightly sulphur and iron-bearing 


Sand 


5 










8 
8 


60 


Domestic 

Domestic and stock 

Stock 






Chesapeake (?). . 






10 


59 


Slightly sulphur and iron-bearing 


Domestic 




Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?). . 
Columbia (?).... 
Columbia (?).... 


+1 

+4 
+2 
+3 






&-1 

2 


8 


60 


Slightly sulphur and iron-bearing 


Domestic 






















Domestic 

Domestic and stock 

Domestic 































Chesapeake 


+2 


1 
















No flow, abandoned 
No flow, abandoned 
















Gravel 


Columbia 

Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?).. 


+5 

+1% 

+6 

+8? 


3 
3 

1 


















Shelly rock 






Soft 






























6 

4 
4 




59 
60 


Slightly sulphur-bearing 

Slightly sulphur-bearing 


Domestic and stock 
Domestic and stock 
Domestic and stock 


Gravel 


Columbia (?).... 
Columbia (?).... 
Columbia (?).... 


+3 

+2 












Sand and gravel 


Columbia (?).... 







5 


.... 




Washing oysters 
Domestic 


Sand and shells . 


Chesapeake (?).. 






15 


.... 


Soft 






Columbia (?).... 

Columbia (?) 

Chesapeake (?) . . 
Chesapeake (?).. 
Chesapeake (?).. 
Chesapeake (?) . . 
Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?) . . 
Chesapeake (?).. 


+5 

+6 

+8 

+8 

+8 

+12 

+8 

+8% 

+8% 




Soft 




Sand and shells . 




15 




Soft 


Domestic and stock 
Domestic 






Sand 










Domestic 




4-5 

1 
5 




62 




Boiler 


Gravel 


Gravel 










































Domestic 


Shells 


Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?) . . 


+1 

+3.y 2 




15 
15 






Domestic and stock 


Shells 






Household 
Not used 


Gravel 








Columbia 










Locomotives 




Chesapeake (?). . 










Soft 


Not used 


Rock at 63 ft 


Chesapeake (?).. 


flows 








Domestic and stock 













300 



[JNDERGROUND WATER RESOl" KCLS <)F COASTAL PLAIN" PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

PostofBce 



< >wner 



- - 
't I 



Driller 







c 




, — > 


S3 




>. 


o 




o 


H 




-w 






- 
= 


9 

> 











y. 


& 




c 
•- 


S3 


— 


g 

9 


a 




o 




43 

sS « 


— 


s 


> — 


- 


d 




< 





— 







> 






,_ 






S3 






- 












« 






S 






:- 
















•-H 


o 




V 












<D 


J= 






■*-. 


z. 


as 


c 






o 


— 


Q 






Accomac — Cont. 

Hopkins Oliver Barnes J. W. T. Robertson <» L897 

Hopkins L S. Gordy J. W. T. Robertson o L902 



Ft. 



A. J. Lewis and 
W. J. Russell 

Frank Lewis J. W. T 

H. A. Lewis W. McK. 

J. R. Ewell W. MeK. 

Justisville I.. L T. Willett W. MeK. 

Leemont 2mi.S.E. J. H. Hopkins J. W. T 



.1. W. T. Robertson () 1904 



Hopkins 

Hopkins 
Justisville 



near 



Robertson D 1903 

Taylor.... 1901 

Taylor.... M 

Taylor.... 1906 

Robertson <> L897 



Leemont H. A. Lewis 

Locustville G. L. Dougherty 

Locustville J'>. T. Gunter.... 

Mappsville L W. Tailor 

Marsh -Market .. near 
Marsh Market .. near 



Mearsville 



2mi.N.W. J. R. Hart 



Mearsville S. Hue 

Mearsville W. J. Somers. 



Mandua Richard Cutter J. W. Adams D 

Mandua H. Guy T. W. T. Robertson D 

Mandua John B. Henderson () 

.Mandua Dr. A. T. L. Kusian.... J. W. T. Robertson O 

Mandua John 0. Stevens .1 . W. Adams D 



New Church 
Onancock .. 



( (nancock 
Onancock 



Heal- 
near 



near 
near 



.1. E. Johnson I. B. Clark o 

Town C. S. York & F. A. 

Merrill D 

Town B. T. Parker M 

Town J. H. K. Shanahan M 



Crockett J. 

Pitts J. 

Hurst J. 

Bull T. 

Rodgers i. 



Onancock near H. L. 

Onancock near W. l'». 

Onancock near M. L. 

Onley near Joseph 

< Milev near -I . W. 

Parksley 3mi.W. W. MeK. Taylor \v. 

Pungoteague S. w. Ames i. 

Pungoteague ... I ml. N. T. J. Custis I. 

Pungoteague S. D. Taylor r. 

Pungoteague G. B. Mason r. 

Pungoteague J. 8. Waterfleld T. 

Pun '.rot ea <_'iie J. 8. Waterfleld J. 

Quinby %ml. W. Machlpongo Bridge Co. .J. 

Sanford near Frank McKay F. 

Sanford J. J. Purniss 

SaxJa near J. T. Weaver 1. 

Sanford Baltimore, Chesapeake 

& \lantic Steamhoat 
Company L 

Tangier T - 1 n ? < « I ■(. J. Daly .1 . 



W. T. 
W. T. 
W. T. 
W. T. 
B. Cla 
McK. 

B. Cla 

W. T. 

\V. T. 

W. T. 

W. T. 

W. T. 

W. T. 

W. T. 



Robertson o 

Robertson 

Robertson 

Robertson 

rk 1) 

Taylor.... 

rk 

Robertson 

Robertson 

Robertson o 

Robertson < > 

Robertson .. 

Robertson ( > 

Robertson 



W. McK. Taylor.... 1899 

I. B. Clark D 1905 

J. W. T. Robertson 1899 

I. B. Clark D L904 

Jas. A. Hall (Two wells) I. B. Clark D 1904 

Jas. A. Hall (Two wells) J. W. T. Robertson O 190(5 



W. McK. Taylor.... M L901 



J. W. T. Robertson D moo 
I. B. Clark I) 1904 



L906 
L905 
1902 
1902 
1906 
L905 

1895 
1890 
1894 

1899 
1900 
1900 
1905 
mo-, 
mm 
1903 
L9D2 
moi 

IS! I! I 

1902 
1902 
1904 

1 898 



(i 

6 

40 

"5"' 
3 

6 

6V2 

1 

8 



24 



10 
10 

•21/2 

1 

15 

10 
6% 

18 



Ft. 

108 
119i/ 2 



175 

95 
130 

68 
100 

122 
104 
140 

70 
55-72 

92 

85 



In. Ft. Ft. 

2 

2 119V 2 ' ' " "(ft' 



64 1% 



1% 
1% 

iy 2 
1% 



64 



15 



170 115-170 
95 



65 

100 



Ft. 

70 

116 

48 

120 
75 



65 



2 122 
1% 104 

2 122 
H 2 70 

iy 2 .... 



16, 32 



122 



85 



15, 40 



150 2 

117 1V 2 117 80 



100 



82 
80 
1 53 

74 
110 
125 



1 1/2 80 

2 n 

l%153 140 

2 70 8 70 

H., 140 92 100 

2 125 35,40,82 125 



16-50 2y 2 50 

350 

486 1 10 1 in 



20 



■ty 2 



15. Clark 



' 1 



B. Clark D 

W. T. Robertson 1) 




109 

130 

36 

51 

53 

1.35 

210 

140 

no 

60 
158 

140 
87 

:<; 

82 

112 



!).-, 
•J 50 



iy 2 io4 



94 



iy 2 35 



20 



1% 53 10. 25 .... 
IC 135 10,30,60 135 

C Jul 20..S0.55 208 

p. no no 

h; 63 68 

2 60 10 

P.. 158 150 IfxS 

L% 

H/o 87 16, 32 .... 

2 

2% 

P., 110 73 112 



W2 



111 



169 



WELL DATA. 



301 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal 


water beds 


Head of water above mean 

high tide 


Yield per 
minute 


S3 
S-t 

+-> 
13 

Sh 

o 

p. 

a 

03 

Eh 


Quality 


Uses 


Material 


Group 

or 

formation 


Flow 


Pump 






Chesapeake (?). . 


Ft. 


Gal. 


Gal. 


°F. 






Sand and rock 
at 90 ft 


Chesapeake (?).. 

Chesapeake (?). . 
Columbia 


flows 
+1% 

+4 
+2 


2 
2 

y 2 










Gravel 


25 




Soft 
























Soft 






Chesapeake (?). . 




5 








Rock at 90 ft. 
gravel 


Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?). . 

Columbia 

Columbia 

Columbia (?) 


+5 
+6y 2 

+7 

+3y 2 

+5 
+5 

+4 

+iy 2 


2y 2 




Soft, slightly sulphur and iron-bearing 
Slight sulphur 




Sand 










i% 








Sand 


12 








Sand 


























5 

8 








Rock at 40 ft. 
Sand 




Soft , irony 


Household and 








Sand 


Columbia r 

Columbia 

Chesapeake (?). . 

Columbia 

Columbia (?) 


+8 
+8 

+2y 2 

+7 

+ 4 


iy 2 
iy 2 








Household and 











stock 
Domestic and stock 














i% 


5 


58 
59 




Domestic and^ stock 
Drinking and stock 


Rock 


Soft , slightly iron-bearing 






Domestic and stock 




Columbia (?).... 
Columbia 


+15 




5 






Domestic 


Sand 




Hard 


Town supply 




Chesepeake 










No flow, abandoned 




Chesapeake 






5 




Sulphur-bearing 


No water below 140 


Sand 


Columbia 

Columbia 


+3 


i 

4 
2 




feet, abandoned 


Sand 






Soft i. 


Domestic and stock 




Columbia 

Columbia 


+5 








Domestic and stock 














Columbia 

Chesapeake (?). . 
Columbia (?).... 


+8 
+7 
+8 


5 






Domestic 


Sand 




Soft 


Domestic and stock 






59 


Soft 


Domestic and stock 










Domestic and stock 




Columbia 

Columbia 

Columbia (?) 


+10 
flows 


3 
18(?) 


6 


60 




Domestic and stock 






Domestic and stock 


Sand and gravel 








Domestic and stock 










Domestic and stock 


Sand 


Columbia 


+7 
±0 


iy 2 


25 




Irony 


Domestic 


Sand and shells 




Domestic and stock 






5 
5 






Domestic and stock 


Sand and gravel 


Columbia 

Chesapeake (?).. 


±0 

+0 
±0 




.... 


Eard 


Domestic and stock 








Fine sand 




5 




Salty 


No flow, abandoned 











302 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postofflce 



03 « 
u 

.So 



Owner 



Driller 







,4 






bfl 












— 






d 




^ 


03 




>> 


03 




<B 


H 




•U 






2 






y 


> 
o 




X 


fii 




c 


rj 














>> 

— 


03 





- 




-u 


A 
-w 


4-3 


>2 


3 


03 


Si ** 


< 


p 


m 





T3 






0) 






XJ 


-a 






o 




2 


,Q 




C3 


ti 




& 






_ 


c3 




03 


£ 




a, 












a 


<y 
















a 


o 


u 


o 


O 






•40 


+J 






E 


r~ 


JZ 


-k-> 


-hi 


- 


^ 


o. 


5 


0D 

Q 


3 



1895 
1898 



Ft. 



A i.i \.\m»i:ia 

Addison Standard Brick Co 

Addison New Washington Pressed 

Brick Co O 

Alexandria Southern Railway 

Alexandria C. M. Adams O 1898 200 

Alexandria Alexandria Fertilizer and 

Chemical Co R. L. Thomas lo 1906 10 

Alexandria Belle Pre Bottle Co O 1907 40 

Alexandria People's Ice Co O 1S94 82 



Ft. 
140 



In. Ft. 



Ft. 



131 ... 

370± . . . 

68 48 



64 



Alexandria 



Alexandria 



Robert Portner Brewing 
Co W. C. Miller. 

Robert Portner Brewing 
Co 



445 

1S5 
401 



8-6 225 
6 175 
8-6 



350 



O 1888 38 



430 8 410 



1902 
1903 



35 
38 



370 
392 



8 370 



61 



ci 



Alexandria Washington, Alexandria Washington Well 

& -Mount Vernon Ry.. Drilling Co M 1904 8 135 6 

G. N. Saegmuller W. C. Miller D 555 ... 

Ballston Livingston Heights 

Syndicate 160 6 



Ballston Admiral Weaver 

Fostoria A. M. Lathrop W. C. Miller. 

Weddebourne R. w. Walter 



I lABOLINE 

Etta ... 



C. M. Harris C. M. Gouldman. .. . 



300 
172 
480 



60 24 



60 
80 



160 

50 



100 



130 6 120 



so 



Ft. 



370 



1905 16 



175 1V 2 173 12 



Mossneck A. B. Lewis Geo. Heflin D 

Port Royal J. D. Farish C. M. Gouldman O 1905 

l''>rt Eloyal C. M. Gouldman C. M. Gouldman... M 1905 

Port Royal Mrs. Eliza T. Pratt M 

Port Royal Town of Port Royal.... Hammer & Hall M 1905 



30 
35 
23 
25 
4 



169 

243 
200 
200? 
235 



2 167 
2 

lVo 200 
2 200? 
1% 235 



100 



175 



CHABLBS City 

Roxbury 



167 



40 



near T. L. Walker. 



Sydnor Pump & Well 
Co O 1902 40 



280 2-1 280 



n 



80 



Shirley near H. S. Saunders H. E. Shimp D 1908 355 2 

a Point J. J. Truax Sherman Jones O 1895 50 00 72 

Westover l%mi.E. Win. M. Ramsay Sydnor Pump & Well 

Co 1901 15 139 10 

Uilleox Wharf K. A. Saunders, Jr., and 

Bon (B wells) 168- 

DlNWIDDIE O 1907 2-24 184 2 

Petersburg iimi.E. J. B. Worth Co A. P. Jerguson D 1892 5 600 8 

EDl i/.ai'.i:tm < try 

Port Monroe near Chamberlain Hotel Thos. B. Harper O 

Fort Monroe .... Dear Dnited Mates M 

.... near United states M 

North End Poinl R. ii. Rfflligan i> 

North End Point j. s. Darling M 



40 

134 

168- 
184 



139 



4 915 4 

3 907 

3 2.254 ir>-6 many 

•l 1.035 3 

2 1.172 6(?) 



2250 



WELL DATA. 



30:3 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 


Head of water above mean 
high tide 


Yield per 
minute 




Quality 


i 
! 

Uses 


Material 


Group 

or 

formation 


Plow 


Pump 


2 
3 1 

t-i 

a 




Sand 


Patuxent 


Pt. 

+ 5 


Gal. 


Gal. 

75 


°P. 


Soft 


Boiler 




Soft '. 


Boiler 


















Sand and gravel 




130 

-5 








Soft 


Domestic and stock 


Sand and gravel 


Patuxent .... 




60 

65 

300 

90 

80 
200 

2 

2 












Glass works 




Patuxent 


+3 




62 


Soft 


Ice manufacture, 




Soft . 


table water 

Brewing, boilers 
and drinking 

Brewing, boilers 
and drinking 

Drinking 
















+23 


3 


61 
































15 
13 
























+27 


% 
% 


63 




Household and 
stock 


Black clay 


Patuxent (?) 

Pamunkey (?)... 












Domestic 


Dark sand 


Pamunkey (?)... 
Pamunkey (?)... 
Pamunkey (?>... 


+ 21 








Soft 


Domestic and stock 










Soft 






+10 


10 


10 


61 
61 


Soft 
























and stock 
No flow; not used 


€lay 


Pamunkey 


+10 

+5 

+32 








Soft 


Domestic and stock 


Pine black sand. 


6-80 


70 


.... 


Soft 


Domestic and stock 
Domestic and stock 




100 




Soft 


Boiler, ice manu- 




UpperCretaceous 


+14 


10 


facture 

Flushing 
Never used 








Sand 


Several 












Never used 
















Never used; no flow 
















Never used: no flow 



















304 



UNDERGROUND WATEB RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 
Pi istofBce 



I »\\ IHT 



Driller 







— 




"0 






ti. 




<s 










JD 










H 






- 




u 










03 




>> 


-- 




* 




9 


























(6 




- 


> 




a 






C 








y. 


& 




a 










































1 


— 


"X 


■~ 


c 



























■^ _ _ 


\. 


_. 






>"S -r 


6 


g 

































1 2 s s i . \ 
Bowlere Wharf. 

Bowlers Wharf. 

Bowlere \\ barf. 

Bowlers Wharf. 

Bowlers Wharf. 

Bowlers 'Wharf. 

Blown- Wharf. 

Blowers Wharf. 

Bowlers Wharf. 

Bowlers Wharf. 
Howler- Wharf. 

Butylo 

Caret 

Center Cross 
Center Cross 
Center < Iross . . 

Champlain 

( lhance 

( lhance 

< lhance 

Dunnsville 

Dunnsi ille 

Loretto 

Loretto 

Tappahannock . 
Tappahannock . 

Tappahannock . 



near 

Dear 

Ileal- 

near 

'..mi. S. 
l mi. N. 



Claybrook & Xeale 

Packing Co L. Rude O ; 1898 

Garrett & Hunt Garrett & Hunt O 1903 



C. P. Garrett 

I. W. Hunt 

Prank Hutchinson. 



Garrett A: Hunt H. L. Skimp O 1896 

Garrett & Hunt M 

,. J. H. Taylor O 1902 

. I. W. Hunt 1898 

. J. H. Taylor 1903 



2mi. s. E. 
2mi. s. E. 
2mi. S. E. 



S. Johnson 

Rude 10 



L. Rude O 



near Win. V. A. Andrews. 
lohn Bradley 



Tappahannock 
Tappahannock 
Tappahannock 
Tap pa bannock 

Tappahannock 
Tappahannock 
Tappahannock 
Tappahannock 

Ta ppahannock 
Tappahannock 
Ta ppahannock 

Tappahannock 

Tappahannock 
Tappahannock 



'..mi. !•:. B. B. 
Lmi.N.W. B. B. 
Inii.N.W . B. B. 



P.roehenborouu'h. 
Brochcnboroutrh . 
Mrochenborouirh. 



Geo. Beazeley 

Hammell & Hale O 

Kaiiinicll A: Hale () 



riea c 

near 

'.mi. E 

near 



R. T. Cauthom W. J. Reamey o 



near 



2ml. w 



Henley Bammel] & Hale <> 1898 

L903 

L904 

|!MKi 



•I. H. 

T. 0. McDaniel O 

i . i . Munford Banking 

00 llainliiell \ Hale O 

I). Passagaluppl H. E. Shimp <> 



Ft. Ft. 
5 165 
5 167 



5 

8 
10 
19 

4 



1 mi. N. R. C. Kaighn J. H. Taylor O 1902 | 4 

R. G. Neal W. S. Johnson O 1888 9 

• -mi . S. A. D. Pitts J. H. Taylor M 1905 .... 

near Win. J. Rice W. S. Johnson O 1888 ! 7 

2mi.N.W. T. W. Hunt I. W. Hunt 1S98 5 

J. P. Taliaferro Hammell & Hale M 1903 30 

C. F. Kriete Lyle & Rude O 1891 | 80? 

C. F. Kriete 

C. F. Kriete 

Joseph Baker 

I. H. C. Beverly.... 

I. H. C. Beverly iL. Rude Ml.... 

Mrs. M. S. Sale L. Rude 189' 

I. E. Kriete Geo. Beazeley 18S8 7 

T . 1 •: . Kriete Chas . Ramsam O 1903 100 

H. L. Baylor L. Rude M 1888 -7 

W. C. Dickinson L. Rude () 1900 38 

near (1. \. Anderson M 18 

near T. E. Blakey O. D. Hale 1906 1!) 



1895 4 
1903 6 
1903 33 
1898 40 

20 

30 



Hammell & Hale M 1902 20 

H. E. Shinip M L902 (0 



1901 18 

L905 27 

'•> 

1895 is 



• ;. K. Oroxton Hammell \ Hale O vm 20 

G. W. Daingerfleld 0. D. Hale o 1906 21 

Donaldson & Schultz Hammell & Hale M i«h)0 4 

•i. w. Paulconer Hammell \- Hale o 1903 L5 



W. B. Robinson Hammell «.V- Hale. 

<;. R. Scotl 



1904 



k; 

17 



18 
8 



I- 



185 
182 
185 
182 
172 

168 

130 



75 
380 
260 

180 

300 

60 

160 

wis 
274 



270 
278 

272 
273 
270 
275 

268 
275 
266 

275 

275 

2S2 



275 



275 



240 


260 


221 


300 


350 


190 


195 



In. 

1% 

2 


Ft. 
165 

167 


Ft. 
130 
130 


Ft. 
16 

151 


IVo 






1% 

IVo 


185 


170 .... 


1^ 

1% 

iy 2 

IVo 


170 
165 


160 

163 






19<> 


IVo 








1V„ 






80 


IVo 


290 






1% 
1% 

D'o 




30') 






ISO 






190 


1 








2 


380 


250 




2 

iy 2 

36 


180 


none 


188 












iy 2 i 




1% 

D/2 

1% 

IVo 










65 












3-2 
IV. 


272 
270 




•>7-> 








1V 2 




°7"> 


14 







1% 2 

P 2 256 

", 275 

D/2 276 . 

1% 278 . 

1% 275 

iy 2 



125 
150 



150 



2 

iy 2 



60- 
275 



65 

60 

275 

275 
278 



AVELL DATA. 



305 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 


Head of water above mean 
high tide 


Yield per 
minute 


03 

Sh 

3 

+3 

e3 
u 
o 

a 

EH 


Quality 


Uses 


1 
Material 

j 


i 

Group 

or 

formation 


Flow 


Pump 






Calvert 

Calvert 


! 

Ft. 
+12 

+15 

+15 


Gal. 

49 
30 


Gal. 


61% 

63 


Soft 


Canning factory 
Drinking and wash- 
ing oysters 


Sand 

1 


Soft 


Soft 


1 


5 
17 

2 

7% 

3 

% 

6 

7 

20 

% 






Soft 






Calvert j 

Calvert 

Calvert 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Calvert 


+15 
+19 

+10 

+10 

+14 
+12 
+15 
+31 
+30 
+12 
+30 
























ei% 




Household and 
stock 














stock 
Household and 






61% 
61 


- 


stock 






Household 






Household 




Pamunkey 






Soft 


Drinking 

Not used, no flow 












Calvert 

Calvert 

Calvert 


6 
32 




61 
62 


Soft 


Stock 




Soft 


Canning factory 




Soft 


White sand. . . . 


Potomac 


+43 


2 






Soft 


Domestic 












White s and 


Pamunkey 

Calvert (?) 


+35 


2% 
is 






Soft, iron and sulphur 


Domestic 


Sand 






Soft 


Stock 












, 




Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 




+30 


22 
5 

y 2 

3 
3 


















Household 


Sand 




60 
61 




Household 


Sand 


Soft 

Soft 


Domestic and 


Sand 


public 
Household 


Sand 


Pamunkey 










Household and 




Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 


+31 
+35 


2 

2% 




2 


62 


Soft 


stock 
Domestic 




Soft 

Soft 


Domestic 








Stock 




Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 




+31 

+29 
+25 
+20 
+18 

+16 
+20 

20 


2 

1% 

1% 
12-5% 

2 

1 
1% 




61% 

61 
62% 


Soft 


Domestic 


Sand 


Soft 


Domestic and stock 


Sand 






Sand 




Pickle house 


Sand 


Soft 

Soft 

Soft 


Household and 


Sand 






stock 
Hotel 


Sand 

Sand 




61 


Household 
Domestic and stock 












Domestic and stock 




Pamunkey 


+20 


1-3 






Soft 


Domestic and stock 


Sand 






Canning factory 








1 








and domestic 



21 



306 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plant Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postofficc 



Owner 



Driller 



a /. 







A 




T3 








6J 






— 


2 






- 






43 






<~* 


03 






ci 


t. 




>> 

"3 


a 






& 


o 

43 

CS 




43 

- 








83 


& 




s 


> 






_£. 





















c 


- 






fl 


43 














c 
















>> 


z. 


Cj 




•— 


c 


c 











- 


— 


43 










— 








- 


a> 


ffl 


— 


- 

= 


+3 


43 


■4J 


43 

S3 


«! 43 


- 


- 


ft 

O 


ft 


< 


c 


— 


- 


C 


Q 



Essex — Cent. 
Tappahannock 
Tappahannock 

Tappahannock , 

Tappahannock 
Tappahannock 
Ware's Wharf. 



Ft. 

near H. Southworth Hanimell & Hale 1903 19 

near R. C. Phillips & Co Geo. ■ Beazeley O 1892 L5 



near 



Ware s 
Ware's 
Ware's 
Ware's 



Wharf. 
Wharf. 
Wharf. 

Wharf. 



Faibfax 

Accotink 

Accotink 

Clifton Station 

>•] 

Palls Church .... 

Fort Hunt 

Port Hunt 

Mount Vernon . . . 

Riverside 

Woodbridsre 



near E. N. Ware H. E. Shimp 

near T. R. B. Wright Hammell & Hale 

lmi.N.W. R. W. Eubank Wm. S. Johnson o 

near H. H. Ware L. Rude 

near R. L. Ware Estate Wm. S. Johnson () 

%mi.N.W R. L. Ware. Jr L. Rude • 

near W. L. Ware Geo. C. Taylor M 



C. Lukens Bushong M 

J. P. H. Mason 

W. U. Edwards 

L. w. Shepard D 

(Henry Birge Baker M 

J. C. -Miller 

J. C. Miller D 

J. H. K. Shannahan <> 



GLOl I i ST] :: 

Achilles 

Achilles 

Achilles . 
Allmondsville 
AUmondsville 
dges 



United States 

Mount Vernon Co. . 

Riverside Brick Co O 

Sydnor Pump & Well 

Co D 



r i . ■ .- 1 ' - 
near 
near 
oear 
near 
3 mi. W. 



B. A. Rowe O 

B. A. Rowe H. E. Slump 

H. E. Shimp D 

•1. V. Bray O 

H. E. Shimp D 



Union Church ... 
W. W. Allmond. 
W. W. Allmond. 
G. E. Brown 



Bridges 3 mi.S.W. 



James Brown II. E. Shimp 1) L904 



Bridges 2mi. S. Ohas. Oatlett E. E. Shimp 1903 

Bridges 2 mi. S. Chas. Catlett II. E. Shimp L903 

Bridges 2mi.S. Ohas. Oatlett 11. E. Shimp L903 

Bridges 3ml. S.W. L. M. Kemp II. E. Shimp D 1903 

Bridges Joshua .Minor 1904 

Bridges 2ml. S.W. Dr. Oliver II. E. Shimp D 1904 



Oappahosic &ml. E. Sidney MonseD B. E. Shimp <> L904 33 



Olaj ; 

Freeporl 
Freeporl 



at 

near 
near 



i \i. 



Newcomb B. E. Shimp & S. 

II. Fetterholf <> 1905 



I . Parinholt B. E. shim]. <> 1901 

R. II. Farinholt B. E. Shimp L90] 



Glass L. Ball B. E. Shimp D 

Gloucester ....... near W. E. Oarr Geo. Bughes *> 1885 

...... near W. I . Oarr <> 1895 



G 

•2 

10 



70 
70 



Ft. 



Mrs. C. N. Temple Hammell & Hale O 1904 177 



In. Ft. Ft. Ft. 

1% 

1% 100 

70. 112 
3 1.56 .... 



1898 


IS 


1904 


18 


18S8 


2 


1899 


5 


1890 


+3 


lsOii 


12 


1895 


14 



280 
277 
190 
180 
20.') 
180 
170 



I*/, 

1% 

iy 2 loo 

Wo 170 
IV2 185 
1% 170 

v/> 165 



140 
100 



1903 


6 


L903 


6 


L905 


5 


1888 


6 


L907 


20 







50 2 

615 2 150 

450 2 400 

270 1% 270 

400(?) 2-1 400 

585? 

60 

610 2-1 535 



150 

200 



65 

12s 
lin 
510 
550 
:*63 

4 Pi 



367 
330 
338 



l 1 ., 

1L. 

2-1 

iy* 500 



300 



4- 

1% 410 



1*2 

P.. 



365 none 

330 

330 



615 


2-1 


350+ 


1% 


180 


1% 



350? 

59 



80 




400 



375 2S9 



16 

330 

280 



WELL DATA. 



W 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal 


water beds 


a 
1 

> 

o 

es 
u 

+s 

03 


Yield per 
minute 


«> 
t-i 

3 

03 

Ph 
05 

a 

2 

CO 

EH 


Quality 


Uses 


Material 


Group 

or 

formation 


Flow 


Pump 




Sand 


Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 


Ft. 
+29 
+10 


Gal. 

1% 
1% 

iy 2 


Gal. 


°F. 

eiy 2 




Domestic 


Sand .. 


Soft 




Sand 






Soft 


Household and 








stock 
Domestic 




Calvert 

Calvert 

Calvert 

Calvert 


+5 
+14 
+14 
+14 
+16 

f40 

+92 

-0 


3 




62 

61 

61% 

61 

61% 

61% 

56(?) 




Domestic 


Porous rock 


Soft 


Domestic and stock 




5% 

2-1 




Soft 


Domestic 


Black sand 


Soft 

Soft 


Domestic and stock 
Domestic 


Rock 


% 


16 




Domestic 


Gravel 


Hard 


Stock and drinking 


Blue clay 


Soft 

Soft 


Domestic and stock 


Soft slate 








Domestic and stock 






























Domestic 


White sand 


Patuxent 






10 
.53 

30 






Domestic, stock 






+23 

+1 






Soft 


Supplies fort 


Sand 


Patuxent 




Drinking 




























Columbia 

UpperCretaceous 
Pamunkey (?)... 

Calvert 

Pamunkey 


+0 
+16 
+10 

+15 


i% 
% 

3 
2% 


10 


61% 

60 

63 


Soft 


Boiler 


Sand . . 


Slightly saline, sulphur 


Domestic 


Rock 


Slightly saline, sulphur 


Drinking 


Black sand 


Soft , sulphur 


Drinking 


Rock 


Soft 
















Washing oysters, 
















medicinal 
Little water below 




St. Marys 


+iy 2 








Soft 


60 ft. Not used 
Drinking 
















Calvert 












Little used 




Pamunkey 


+32 
















65(?) 






Calvert (?) 

Calvert 


+39 

+ 42 

+30 
+16 








Fine, dark green 
rock 


5 

iy 2 

2 

y 2 




65 


Soft 


Domestic, stock, 




boiler 
Household and 




Calvert 




63 
63 




stock 
Household and 




Calvert 




stock 
Household and 




UpperCretaceous 






stock 


Black sand 


+40 
+40? 










No flow, abandoned 














No flow, abandoned 

















308 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postoffice 



Owner 



Driller 



.2 c 



Gloucester — 
Cont. 
Gloucester Point 



near 



Chesapeake S. S. Co., 

, Gloucester County H. E. Shimp. 



cjo 






— 

& 
03 



I 



Ft. 
D 1903 6 



New Upton R. J- Bristow 



Pinetta 
Pinetta 
Selden 

Selden 
Selden 

Selden 



H. E. Shimp O 1901 



S. W. 



E. H. Scanlan i 1903 

Joseph Bryant Sydnor Pump & Well 

Co 



S. W. 



Sassafras 3 mi. S. 

Severn \ near 



Signpine 3mi. S.W. 

Signpine \ 2 mi. N. 

Signpine ,3%mi.E. 

Wareneck j 2mi.E. 

Greenes villk 
Emporia 



Joseph Bryant I 

Joseph Bryant D. E. Miller and H. 

E. Shimp 

Alfred W. Withers Sydnor Pump & Well 

Co 

H. E. Shimp 



B. T. Weaver 

I J. M. Shackelford. 



D 1905 

O 1901 

O 1904 

W. D. Diggs JO 1902 



O 1905 
.. 1900 



Ft. 
69-4 



415 

215 
350 

1,020 
110 

981 

716 
336 
610 



R. C. Coleman SO 1886 



3V 2 211 



;E. H. Scanlan... 
Peter Van Name. 
IW. A. Jone= 



iH. E. Shimp. 
| Thompson 



O 1903 ! 25 

O 5 

M 8 



Hanover 
Ashland 
Ashland 
Ashland 

Ashland 
Doswell 

Henrico 
Catman 



Town Sydnor Pump & Well 

Co M 1906 



%N. 
V 8 N. 



near 



Randolph-Macon College 

Randolph-Macon College 

G. W. M. Taylor Sydnor Pump & Well 

(Henry day Inn).!.!'.!! Co 

Ashland G. S. & W. Co.. 

Richmond, Fredericksburg j 
& Potomac R. R 



350 
180 
300 



600 



140 
100 



M 1906 ! 365 

! 374 

250 
327 



Curies Neck Farm F. M. Gould .. 1900 30 



926 



Isle of Wight 

Benns Church 

Ivor 

Shoal Bay 3 mi. E. 



Heath , | 250 

Shaw Lumber Co O 1907 60 190 

J. A. Morgart J. P. Ginder O 1900,32 



Shoal Bay 3 mi. E. 

Shoal Bay y 2 mi.N. 

Smithfield 



J. P. Tower W. Wilson M 1907 32 

W. D. Turner M 1906 IS 



Zuni nearS. 

Zuni near 

Zuni 5 mi. E. 



Smithfield Mineral Water 

Co 

J. M. Darden J. T. Moore O 1895 25 

Town of Zuni I. T. Moore D 1895 







383 
380 
226 



300 

150+ 

162 



Mt. Carmel Christian Ch. J. T. Moore D 35(?) 190 



In. 

2y 2 
-i 



415 



235 



350 . 



6-2 850 



6-4 

iy 2 

2 



716 
330 
585 



iy 2 : 211 

180 
2 

2 

1% 



610 

13 

33 

160 

196 



Ft. . Ft. | Ft. 
690 I none 180 
i 694 
8-42 



981 



575 



8 470 



62 
370 



28 



10 
6 



32 
150 



311 



6 
2 

iy 2 



185 

383 none 



200 



2y 2 220 none 200 



WELL DATA. 



309 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 



Material 



Group 
or 

formation 



a 




c3 




9 




n 




<o 




> 




o 




p 




03 




U 




<D 




+J 




cS 




* 


V 




TO 






O 


+^ 




J3 


'O 


in 


03 




V 


£3 


w 





Yield per 
minute 



Flow 



Pump 



Quality 



'White rock" . . . 



Below rock. 



Upper cretaceous 



Calvert. 



Calvert (?), 
Pamunkey 



St. Marys 

Upper Cretaceous 



Sand UpperCretaceous 

Dark green sandiPamunkey 

Rock { Pamunkey (?)... 



Rock at 196 ft. 

Sand Calvert. 



Porous rock I Pamunkey 

| Calvert 

Calvert 



Granite. 



Sandstone. 
Sandstone. 



Newark. 
Newark. 

Newark. 



^Newark. 



Granite. 



St. Marys 

St. Marys (?). 



Black and white 

sand ; Calvert. 

Black and white | 

sand Calvert 

Black and white j 

sand I St . Marys . 



Ft. 

+20 



+16 

+4 



Gal. 
2 



Gal. 



+8y 2 

+5 

+32 
+20 
+16 



+30 
+15 



10 



52 
1% 

y 5 



i% 

y 2 



+20 



+30? 

+ 4 



+36 



tV 



St. Marys. 

St. Marys. 

St. Marys. 

St. Marys. 



+30 ! i 

flows ( 

32(7) 2 
! 1 



1% 



40 



°F. 

64+ 



70 



65 



100 



45 
85 



100 



Soft, sulphur 
Soft 



Hard 

Saline, sulphur 



Saline, sulphur, irony. 

Soft 

Soft 



Soft, sulphur 



Soft 

Soft, sulphur 



Irony 



Uses 



Drinking, house- 
hold, etc. 

Domestic and stock 



No flow, abandoned 
Drinking 



Washing, bathing 
Domestic and stock 
Drinking 



Household and 

stock 
Domestic 
Household 
Stock 



Abandoned 

Abandoned 
Not used 

Hotel supply 
Public supply 



Drilled for locomo- 
tive supply; aban- 
doned 
62 ' Soft I Domestic and stock 



58 



Soft, alkaline 



Domestic and boiler 
Hotel, medicinal 



Alkaline 



Soft, alkaline 

Soft 

Soft 



Drinking, medicinal 

Drinking, medicinal 

Drinking 

Domestic and stock 

Drinking 



310 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued J — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postoffice 



Owner 



Driller 



.2 c 









>> 








<o 




+^ 




03 








S 








X 




o 




tH 




app 


u 




c 




fl 


« 


+= 


-M 


3 


C3 


< 


C 



James City 
Croaker 3y 2 mi. E. W. H. Davis. 



Diascond 2 mi. S 



-Brick Co. 



Coleman Whitaker... 



H. E. Shimp. 



Lee Hall 4 mi.S.W. Duke & Smith H. E. Shimp 



Lee Hall 4 mi.S.W. Duke & Smith 



H. E. Shimp & S. H. 

Fetterholf 

S. H. Fetterholf 



O 1897 

M 1908 

O 1903 

O 190G 

D 1906 



c3 cj 



Ft. 




Lee Hall near H. M. Clement 

Lee Hall 2mi.W. Charles Bailey H 

Jamestown at Asso. Preservation of 

Va. Antiquities jSydnorPump&WellCo. O 1905 



E. Shimp : M 1908 



Jamestown l^mi.NE. C. F. Ayers Frank Carman 



O 1906 



23 

18 
40 
10 

12 

15 



Chas. Babcock Frank Carman |D 1906 12 

Miss L. J. Barney o 1894 ! 10 

G. L. Burleson Frank Carman \Q 1906 15 



Jamestown iy 2 mi. N. 

Jamestown y 8 mi.E. 

Jamestown lmi. N. 

Jamestown . iy 2 mi.NE. E - Gilley Frank Carman O 1905 18 

Jamestown 2 mi. E. Mlss Rose D - Johnson. .. . |.. ]<)oi c 



Jamestown Southern Land Co. 



-McCormiek ! o 1906 



■2u 



Lightfoot . , 
\\ illiamsburg 
V( illiamsburg 
W illiamsburg 
Williamsburg 
Williamsburg 
Williamsburg 
Williamsburg 

Norge 



1 mi.S.W. 

%m.X.W. 

14m. N.W. 
14m. N.W. 

14 mi . E . 
V 2 m.N.W. 
%mi.N.E. 

14 mi. W. 

near 



Powhatan Hunting Club. S. H. Fetterholf I D 1903 S 

Eastern State Hospital... 'G. Vaiden ! M 1888 80 

Eastern State Hospital... ! Frank Gould M 1902 84 

Marshall Estate Frank Gould M 1899,84 

Mrs. Israel Smith 'G. Vaiden M 88 

William and Mary College Frank Gould M 1898 84 

G. Vaiden Frank Gould O 1888 70(?) 

Williamsburg Knitting 

Mill Frank Gould M 1889 75 

Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. . Sydnor Pump & Well 

Co O 1909 110 



King and Queen _ „ , 

Gressith 2 mi W W. F. Anderson W. Johnston O 1885 11 

King and Queen near ' County Frank E. Pearce M 1889 20 





-a 












u 

5 






a 


U 




* 


C3 




rt 


£ 
























O) 




a 


s: 






+j 




o 





•_, 








<D 




4J 








4) 


£3 


A 


3 


+* 















CD 


ft 


ft 


ft 



Ft. In. Ft. 

200 3y 2 200 



250? 
429 

395 



200 
270 
300 

320 

290 

310 

298 
250? 

270 

140 
876 
280 
285 



3 
3 

lVo 

9 

3-1 

8 

6 



299(?) 6 
290 6 
276 6 



286 
419 



206 
216 



King and Queen 2mi.S.W. p. Bird Frank E. Pearce M 18 200(?) 

Little Plymouth 2mi.S.W. R - H - Spencer O 1886 20 168 

Mantapike ... % mi S Mantapike Canning Co.. Jos. Ryland D 1903 6 150 

Plalnvlew SmiN* Garrett Post Wm. Johnson O 1888 210 

Shackelford .'.'.'.'. 3% mi. SW W. H. Bland J. V. Bray O 1890 175 

Shackelford 3%mi.8W K - M - Hart Frank Pearce O 1895 8 172 

Truhart PAmiSE VIi : ; Savage J. V. Bray I) 175 

Walkerton Dr - B - B - Bagbv W. H. Walker o 1889 25 27:. 

Walkerton '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. ]vilu Clark H. E. Shimp 1906 21 240 

Walkerton P. P. Dillard Frank Eaton 1889 32 265 

250? 

Walkerton H. B. Gray Joseph Ryland O 18S9 35 355 

Walkerton 2mi.N. A. B. Qwathmey H. E. Shimp O 1906 8 190 



iy 2 



2 

1V2 

2 



IVo 

1% 

iy 2 

iv 2 



Ft. 

185 



375 



330 
300 



200 
270 
295 

310 



171- 
271 
15 
45 
190 
260 
280 



309 
298 



Ft. 
200 



286 



206 
216 



150 



150 
210 

175 
172 
175 



215 
160 
160 



22E 



375 



270 

298 

298 



309 



290 sever'l 280 



2S6 
415 



180 
216 



36 



175 
17-? 



225 

20 

7 



WELL DATA. 



311 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 



Material 



Group 

or 

formation 



o 




f* 




O 




-O 




a 




._, 




» 




4^> 












s- 






o 




Ti 
















& 


z 


by 


o 


fl 


— 1 




1 ■ ™ * 





Yield per 
minute 



Flow Pump 



Quality 



Uses 



Gravel Calvert . 



Pamunkey +30 



Ft. Gal. Gal. 'P. | 
+20 20 ! 60(?) .Alkaline Domestic and medic- 

inal 

Drinking 

Domestic and stock 



Pamunkey 



-30 



10 

2 



63% 
65 



Boiler 



-25 



Calvert (?) 1+41 

Gravel Calvert (?) +30 



40-29 



Soft 



65 Drinking, domestic 

and stock 

64 Fine Household and 

stock 



Gravel. 



White quicksand 
Sand 



Calvert (?) +40 

Calvert (?) +20? 

Calvert (?) +41 

Calvert (?) +40? 

Calvert (?) 



Calvert (?) 

Calvert (?) 

+38 

Calvert +40 

Calvert 

Calvert i 

Calvert +34 

Calvert j+27 



2,y 2 

70 

6 
5 



50 
100 



60 
150 



63(?) 

63 

64 



Household and 

stock 
Household and 

stock 
Household and 

stock 



60 



62(?) 
62(?) 



Soft 

Hard, irony 



Household and 

stock 
Stock 

Drinking 

No flow, abandoned 

Hospital purposes 

Hospital purposes 

Domestic 

Drinking, etc. 

Ice manufacturing 



Calvert +38 1 ,000(?) Boiler and washing 



Coarse green- 
sand 



Pamunkey (?)... +40 \ ', 200+ iSoft, alkaline 



Rock 

Black sand. 



Calvert +28 

Pamunkey +18 



Shells. 



Under rock. 
Shell rock 



Sand under rock 
Rock at 180 



Pamunkey +16 ; 

Calvert | 

Calvert (?) +20 ; 7 1 /* 

Calvert (?) +6 15 

Calvert +20 5 

Calvert +20 12 

Calvert 

Pamunkey +30 ^ 

Pamunkey +35 1% 



15 



10 
3 



Alkaline 

60% Soft, slightly sulphur 



61 

Good 

62 Soft 

Soft, sulphur 

62y 2 Soft 

62 Soft 



For locomotives, 
not used 

Domestic and stock 
Public, no longer 

flows 
No longer flows 
Domestic and stock 
Canning factory 
Domestic 

Domestic and stock 
Domestic 



Sand 



Greensand with 
shells 



Pamunkey y 2 

Potomac 

Pamunkey +35 20 



58 Soft, sulphur 
62 



63 
60 
63 



Domestic 
Household and 

stock 
Household 

Drinking and stock 

Household 



312 



IXDERGROUNTD WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROYIXCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postofflco 



o o 



Owner 



Driller 



.5 £ 



Kist; and Queen 
— Cont. 

Walkerton 

Walkerton 



Walker ton 
Walkerton 
Walker ton 

Walkerton 



Walkerton lmi. E. 



near 
near 



near 
near 
near 
near 



W. T. Haynes 

Hefron & Haynes Steam- 
boat Co 



Mattapony Piehle Co... 
Mattapony Piehle Co... 

i John A . Mitchell 

Mrs. C. T. Roberts 



Walkerton 
Walkerton 
Walkerton 
Walkerton 
Walkerton 
Walkerton 



King George 

Dido 



near 
near 
near 
near 
near 
near 



at 



John N. Ryland 

Miss Lucy Stacy 

R. M. Trice 

Mrs. Mary Turner 

H. H. Walker 

Mrs. Melville Walker. 
Walkerton Pickle Co. 



C. E. Davis, 2 wells. 



Dogue •••.. 2 mi. E. 

Mathias Point.. 



J. S. Dickinson. 
IW. Mayo — ... 



Mathias Point.. at 

Pluck nearN. 



Pluck 



Pluck %mi. >". 

Port Conway ... 2mi.N.E. 
Port Conway ... lmi. E. 
Port Conway .. . near 

Rollins Fork .... 2 mi. S. 

SealstOD 2 mi. E. 



P. H. Pemberton.. 
Lyttleton Johnson. 



Frank Eaton 1889 

Frank Eaton M 1888 



J. V. Bray 

J. V. Bray 

John A. Mitchell. 
Joseph Ryland — 



Joseph Ryland O 1906 

Joseph Ryland M imm 

Frank Eaton M 1889 

Frank Eaton M 1889 

H. E. Shimp <> 1905 

Ill 1889 

W. H. Walker M 1904 



O 1901 
O 1902 



1891 
1895 



Chas. Pfeil <> L898 



L. Rude 01 1897 

L. Rude D L907 



C. W. Walcott o 1902 

Chas. H. Jones M 189.") 



Johnson Bros M 



II. X. Stuart 
J. H. Law .. 
R. V. Turner 
R. V. Turner 



.. L893 

M 1905 

Hammell & Hale o 1905 

Hammell & Hale o L903 



Vulcan Fire Brick Co., 

(2 wells) M uno 

John Curtis Geo. Heflin D mot 



King William 
Aylett 



Aylett 



Qear 
near 



.1 . C. Fox Jos. Ryland 

.1 . B. Moore H. K. Shimp 



D 1905 
o L906 



(ohoke \ nearN. 

( ohoke 



(ohoke Club I. A. Smith. 

Dr. Edwards 11. E. Shimp 



inn; 
1) L906 



Ft. 



6 
32 
32 

50 
33 

32' 
37 
35 



40 

12 

8 
6 

8 

8 
28 
20 

3 



11 
30 



25 



18 



(ohoke Lmi. S.E.J, w . Johnson 11. E. Shimp p 1906 20 

Elsing Green — nearW. Roger Gregory ll. E. Shimp p 1906 20 

Elslng Green Roger Gregory 11. E. Shimp p L906 20 

King William.... near King William County — P. E. Pearce .. 1898 .... 

Kin',' William L% mi. N. John Cook M 1889 i 



Lester .Manor. . 
Lester Manor. . 



Smi.W. .1. T. Dantey II. E. Shimp p 1906 20 



Smi.W. Frank Bobbins II. I.. Shimp I) HMXi 



10 



Ft. 
260 

185 
330 
350 
260 
372 
250 

275 

260? 

260? 

260 

240 

270? 

350 



175 

260 

175 

236 
190 
300 

50 

305 
250 
232 

275? 
250 

189 

190 

215 
232 



250 
205 
300 
3.50 
260 



245 
KH)(?) 



In. Ft. Ft. 

iy 2 



IY21 



1% 

IV2 

P/2 1 250 
1% 



1V 2 275 

IV2 

1% 

1% 

IV2 

1% 

1% 



iy 2 



m 

2 

2% 

1% 42 



iy 2 

1% 221 



1% 



150 
90 
15 



Ft. 
260 

18 

330 



45 

270 

16 



20 
45 



236 none 
190 none 



16 
236 



15 



219 



2 


none 


20 
30 


1'l- 


180 


190 


2 


215 




2 1 


230 


230 

20 




240 


240 


2 


200 


190 


•> 




220 


iy 2 

:; 2 






240 


210 



WELL DATA. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 


G 

03 

9 

> 

o 

03 

u 

ca 
-tj 

C3 

0+ 3 

T3 isfl 
03 •— 
ai Xi 


Yield per 
minute 


0J 
F-i 

P 

2 

ca 

a 

a; 


Quality 


Uses 


Material 


Group 

or 

formation 


Plow 


Pump 

i 








Ft. j 


Gal. 


Gal. 


°F. 




Household 


. 






1% 

5 

4 




61 

63% 
63 

64 




Drinking 


Gray sand Potomac 

! Pamunkey 

Sand Potomac 

Pamunkey 

, Pamunkey 


+30? 
+15 
+30? 
+ 43? 

+25 

+33 
+33 


Soft, alkaline, sulphur 


Salting pickles 
Salting pickles 


















































Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Potomac 

Pamunkey 

Potomac 


+32 
+35 
+35? 

+ 15 

+ 18 
+36 




60 
60 










Hotel 




















Soft, sulphur, alkaline 


Pickle factory 

Domestic, packing 
fish 




2% 


6 




Soft 




Hard 














Sand 


Potomac 77. .. ... 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey (?)... 
Pamunkey 


+10 

+8 

flows 

+3 

+2 
+29 


2 
several 














Soft 


irrigation 


Sand 






Sulphur 


oystermen 
Domestic, stock 




2 


3 
8% 


60 
61 
61 

63 


Very irony 


too irony 

Stock 
















Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 


+23 


13.5 

2 

iy 2 

y 2 
i% 




Sof t , slightly sulphur 


Canning factory, 




domestic and stock 
Drinking, boiler 


"Quicksand" 

Gray sand 

Dark green sand 


Potomac 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 


+ 31 

+ 28 


Soft , sulphur 




6oy 2 

60% 








stock 


Dark sand 


Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 


+ 31 

+35? 

+32 
+30 
+30 


Soft 

Soft 


stock 


"Soft rock'" 
greens and 

Greensand 


10 


1 




Household and 
stock 




5 

7 






Soft 








62 


Drinking and stock 








Pamunkey 




3% 

4 
5 




61 

60? 
60? 






"Shelly rock" 
greensand 


Pamunkey 


+31 
+36 


Soft 


stock, formerly 
boiler 


Greensand 










stock 



314 



[JNDEEGKOUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL ELAIX PKOVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virgin la. 



County 

and 

Postoffice 



Owner 



Driller 



> 
o 
fit 

a 
c 

^ •£ 







'C 
















fii 


>o 






5 


a> 






+-> 








cS 








> 


o 








K 














cS 
























S) 








e 


























C 












(H 


Q 


o 




« 




-*-> 










- 




£ 






+-< 


+» 


z. 


C3 


Pj 


ft 


OJ 




e> 


5 


fi 


fi 


ft 



King William 
— Cont. 
Lester Manor.. 
Lester Manor 



3ini.W. J. A. Robins. 
T . L . Robins . 



H. E. Shimp D 1907 



Manquin 2mi.S.W, 

Manquin 1 mi. b. 



Miss Cora Skidmore. 
C. B. Chapman 



Frank E. Pearce M 1888 

Sydnor Pump & Well 
Co M 1896 



Ft. 
20 
36 
32 

30 



Palls l^mi.SWJ. H. 



Montague : 1888 32 



West Point 

West Point 

West Point V 2 mi . N . 

West Point lmi. N. 



West 
West 



Point lmi. N. 

Point 14 mi. E 



West Point 14ml. N.I.. 

West Point lmi.N.E. 

West Point lmi.N.W. 

West Point 

West Point 

West Point 

West Point lmi. S.E. 

West Point % mi. E. 

West Point 14 mi. S. 

West Point nearS. 

West Point % mi . S . E . 

West Point 1 mi. S. 

\\ est Point 1 mi. S. 

West Point % mi. S.E. 

West Point V-z mi. N. 

West Point % mi. S. 



City Frank E . Pearce M 

City Challenge Wind Mill & 

Feed Co . (2 wells ) . . M 1904 

I Mrs. S. E. Carr M 1S86 

Denmead Bros J. V. Bray O 1892 

Denmead Bros Frank E. Pearce O 1895 

B. W. Edwards Frank E. Pearce M 1888 

Dr. W. T. Gatewood.... J. Prank Smith 1886 

Dr. W. T. Gatewood — J. Frank Smith...... 1902 

Guthrie & Kidd j. v. Bray M 1906 

iB. W. Hefron O 

|B. W. Hefron L903 

B. W. Hefron 

I.J. W. Marshall r. Frank Smith M 1904 

J. W. Marshall j. Frank Smith <> ;902 

T. O'Conner 

J. W. Owens r. V. Bray 1899 

M. M . Puller J. Frank Smith 1902 

Geo . W . Richardson q 



Geo. W. Richardson H. E. Shimp 1905 

Geo. W. Richardson Sydnor Pump & Well 

Co 1904 

J. W. Sheldon 1. y. Bray () 1901 

"Southern R. R. Co. 

(big well) m 1881 



West Point %mi. S. Southern R. R. Co 

(6 wells) Prank E. Pearce M 18S8 

Wesl Poinl Lmi. S.E. Southern R. R. Co E. Wilkinson d 1000 

West Point lmi. S.E. I Southern R. R. Co. E. Wilkinson d 1899 



8-15 



10 



2 

2 
14 
14 
1-3 



14 

8 

20 

8 

6 



10 
15 



West Poini 2 ml. S.E. United States E. Wilkinson d 1893 |.... 

Wesl Point ^mi.SWWest Point Ice Co. 

(2 wells) Frank E . Pearce M 1888 6 

Wesl Point M mi. s. Wm. Wheeler r. Frank Smith p L902 s 

Wesl Point 'imi.S.E.E. Wilkinson J. V. Bray <> 1887 10 



Ft. 

■2X) 
200 
270 

237 



399 
165 

335 

165 

105 

158 
158 
180 
315 
169 
165 
325 
120 
165 
332 

165 
165 
325 
160 

366? 

325 

175 

120? 



160 
165 
165 

165 

185 

326 

165 



In. Ft. 

3 200 
3-2 250 



Ft. 



19 



2y> 270 none 



6 



Ft. 
190 
240 
270 

237 



iy 2 398 



iy 2 165 120 .... 

120 
3 337 165 .... 

iy 2 

V/z 105 105 

20 

iy 2 158 105 15S 

iy 2 

2 

iy 2 

iy 2 loo 



iy 2 

iy 2 
2 



iy 2 

iy 2 100 



PHI 

PJ5 



iy 2 lew 
4- 



120 



1% 


366? 


120 


360? 


lVo 








P/n 






6 


120 
160 






2 


■ 


20 
160 


iy 2 


165 


120 




iy 2 


165 


120 


.... 


?, 






160 


2 
1% 

IVo 


185? 

315 

120 


112 
150 


185? 
306 









'Southern R. R. had about 15 wells. 

1 'i iiia l bead 29 feet. 

Plow at flrsl 2 1 gallons per minute. 
< lombined yield of wells. 



WELL DATA. 



315 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 



Material 



Group 

or 
formation 



-a 

'O fcjo 



Yield per 
minute 



Flow 



Pump 



Quality 



Uses 



Greens and j Pamunkey . . 

Pamunkey . . 

Sand Potomac (?) 



Gray micaceous 
sand Potomac (?) . 



Potomac (?) 



Ft. 



+39 

+39 

33 



Gal. \ Gal. 
5V 2 | 

iy 2 ' 

9 



°F. 

6i" 



Soft 
Soft 



ey 2 

% 



-. Calvert +8 

Sand Pamunkey \ +20 

Calvert [ 

Calvert +9 ? 



. Calvert j +10 

. Calvert ; 

. Calvert +11 

. !Pamunkey j 

.'Calvert +13 

.j Calvert < 

.Pamunkey 

,! Calvert 

.'Calvert..^ 1+14 

, Pamunkey +20 



37 

2 

% 

20? 



2-6 



61 



62 



12 62 
67% 



10? 



j Calvert 

Sand (Calvert — 

Pamunkey 

Calvert 



-18 



%- 
2% 



Black sand Pamunkey +30? 



9V 2 

7 

70(?) S 



Pamunkey 
Calvert 



Calvert. 



Calvert. 

Gravel Calvert . 

Calvert. 



4y 2 



Calvert +20 



Calvert. 



c 7y 2 

50? 



65 

63 
64y 2 

62 

61% 
67 
63 

66 

65 
61% 



Household and 
stock 



Household, boiler 
I supply, stock 

Household and 

stock 

Soft Public 

Soft I City water works 

Domestic 

Soft sulphur Boiler 

Soft 'Drinking 

Boiler 

iHousehold 

Household 

Boiler at brick yard 

Soft Household 

Soft Household 

Soft sulphur ..Drinking 

Washing oysters 

Household 

.Stable 

Drinking 

Household 

Soft .Washing oysters 

Soft Washing oysters 



Household 
Household 



68% 
65? 



Sand and gravel Pamunkey +18 

Sand Calvert + 7 



d 21 

20 



61% 
62" 



Sof t , sulphur Drilled for locomo- 
tive, little used 

Soft Drinking or steam- 
boats and wharf 

Soft Drinking at Beach 

Park 

Soft .Park at Terminal 

Hotel, drinking, 
etc. 

Soft Drilled for dredge , 

used now occa- 
sionally by boats 

|Soft Ice mfg., drinking 

Soft Domestic and stock 



316 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postoffiee 



( >wner 



Driller 



Lancasteb 
Bertrand 



Bert rand 
Irvington 

Irvington 

Irvington 

Irvington 
Irvington 

Irvington 



near S. 



T. J. RatelifYe & Co. 
J. C. Ewell (2 wells). 



J. Rateliffe |0 1889 

O 1902 



Imi.N.W. 



Carter Creek Fish Guano 
Co R 

Imi.N.W. Carter Creek Fish Guano 

Co .. 

% mi. SW Est. of I. H. Francis... R. 



L. T. Custer.. 
H. Milligan 



O 1899 



Ft. 

9 

12 



H. Milligan D 190E 



%mi. SW Est. of I. H. Francis 

aear W. A. Dameron & Bros. L. Rude O 

mar Messick & Gunby H. A. Crittenden 



1891 
1903 



6 

3y 2 

iy 2 



Kilmarnock near 

Lancaster vYm. Chilton 



R. H. Milligan D 1903 



Lancaster . .. 
Merry Point 



near 
near 



County 



!.. Rude M 



Cralle, Jones & Co J. C. Ewell. 



77 



M l'Ki-2 



Milienbcck near S. E. Millenbeck Oyster Co — L. F. Carter M 

W. Warren II. E. Shimp D 

Mona'skoii" B. L. Farinliolt O 

Monaskon B - L. Farinliolt .. 

Ocran - T - F- Bellows 

Ocrarj ... Bellows & Squires R. 11. Milligan o 

\y, ,,.,,,<' B. G. Doggett and Chas. 

Chance L. Rude M 

Weems B. G. Doggett and Chas. 

Chance L. Rude .. 

Weeme xv - Messick II. E. Shimp i> 

Westland '»■ '•• Farinholt M 

Whealton ,.l%mI.W.O. D. Hale Hammell A: Hale .. 

mar Lewis. Lankford-Tull Co. Ilaninicll & Hale D 



1892 
1904 

ISSH 



Whealton 



Whealton near •' • W. Whealton 

Whealton VThealton Packing Co... 

(3 wells) Ilaninicll & Hale. 



Wln'ti stoni 




1907 
1896 

1894 

l!)i)-J 

IS!':; 

1904 
1902 



10 

"c>" 

6 
6 

10 

3% 



10 
8 



Ft. 
272 

275 



:,m 1 



330 
537 

330? 
330 

450? 

637 
250 

450 
325 

315 
325 

300 
255 

507 
660 

330 

260 
485 
443 
244 

256 



1894 6 
1894- 
L903 1 



IS! 11) 



Matiii:u S 

tietts Pitchetts J. w. T. Robertson .. 1904 

Mathews near County H. E. Shimp M 1905 

Mathews near Hammell & Hale M 

Mathews 3mi. S. \i. T. Sears Wm. S. Johnson M 1891 



Mathews 



near 



(i. E. Steer M 1891 



300+ 



100± 

817 

390 

300± 
360-4- 



Porl Hay wood.. 11% mi. E.Sterling Diggs 11. E. Shimp o 1904 io 112- 

Porl Haywood. . 1 r. mi. N. I', n 3 Lumber Co 11. E. Shimp D 1907 10 107 



Traders 1 mi. N. John M. Campbell D 1907 15 

om 11 flrsl 15 gallons per minute. 



no 



In. Ft. 

1% 268 



3-2 



580 



iy 2 330 
3 



iy 2 

1V 2 330 
1% 



iy 2 



2% 

1 
1% 



325 



3 
3 

1% 

1% 

2-1 



660 
330 







— 






■a 








be 






£5 


■a 






q 






<B 


,fi 










-4J 








cS 






B3 






£ 


a 






& 






« 








03 




03 








03 


£ 




a 


> 






a 






IXO.K 


03 











>> 


- 


a 




■— 


c 


Q 




e3 


c 




~ 




+J 


- 








■»-> 











rt » 


_^ 


ii 




sz 


— 
— 

= 





►2 

2. +3 


| 


i 


— 


— 


< 


P 


~" 


P 


p 


P 


a 



Ft. 

220 



550 
450 
350 



Ft. 
90 

80 



580 



100 



100 
one 



1% 233 

1V 2 251 none 



262 1V 2 

1% 



70 



660 



214 



2-1 



125 



3-2 

3-2 100 100 



3 2 KH) 



WELL DATA. 



317 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 



Material 



Group 

or 
formation 



a 


e3 


V 


s 


03 


> 


o 


,Q 


C3 


Ph 


Ol 


4J 


c3 


* 9 


•a 




o^ 


— .3 


^ fcua 


eS-2 


qj,C 


w 



Yield per 
minute 



Flow I Pump 



Quality 



Sand 
Clay. 

Sand 



Upper Cret aceous 
Calvert 



Sand 



Porous sand rock 
Shell rock 



Fine sand 



Calvert. 
Calvert. 



Pamunkey (?)., 



Calvert 

Pamunkey (?). 



Calvert. 
Calvert. 



Ft. 
+18 

+18 
+35 



Gal. 

iy 2 



30 



Gal. 



Calvert. 
Calvert. 



Calvert 

Calvert 

Calvert ._. 

Calvert 

Pamunkey (?)... 
Upper Cretaceous 



+4 
+6? 



a 33y 3 

m 
% 

2 
140 



+15 
+32 
+4? 

±0 

+12" 



y 2 



50-12 

...... 



°F. 



69 



69 

65 
64 
64 



Calvert. 

Calvert. 
Calvert. 



Calvert. 
Calvert. 

Calvert. 
Calvert. 



St. Marys (?), 



St. Marys (?). 
St. Marys 



St. Marys. 



+6 



+18 



2% 



15 
16 



+15 



+ey 2 



+5 



20 



64 



61(?) 



very 

small 

30 



59 



58 
571/2 



Sulphur 
Soft ... 



Soft 



Soft sulphur 



Soft, sulphur 
Soft, sulphur 
Soft 



Sulphur 
Sulphur 



Soft, sulphur 



Soft, sulphur 



Soft 
Soft 



Soft, sulphur 



Uses 



Domestic, stock, 

washing oysters 

Domestic, stock, 

washing oysters 

Boiler, domestic 
and stock 

Not used 
Drilled for hotel 

supply, household 
Household 
Drinking 
Drinking, washing 

oysters, canning 



No flow, abandoned 
Domestic, stock, 

boiler 
Drinking, cooking 



Domestic and boats 



Fish factory 
Drinking 



No flow, abandoned 
Domestic and stock 

Canning factory, 
domestic and 
stock 

Domestic and stock 

Canning factory, 
domestic and 
stock 

No flow, abandoned 



Canning factory 

Soft, sulphur :Drinking 

Never used, no flow 

Never used, no flow 

Never used, no flow 



Sulphur 
Soft ... 



Abandoned 
Boiler, drinking 

and stock 
Domestic and stock 



318 



UNDERGROUND WATF.R KKSOL'RCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCK. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia, 



County 

and 
Postoffice 



- 
c 

~ - 

= = 

_ — 
■ i 
s z 

— Z- 

'- 



Owner 



Driller 







— 






T3 






tl 






a> 












,C 












t- 






a 






3 






S3 






c3 




*3 


o 
S 






& 




+3 












F 


> 






— 













a 




c 


C3 








>» 


p. 

a 


C 




<- 


ft 

c 




cS 


c 

















+3 




: 




c3 V 


- 


- 


- 


— 


a> 


t>2 


+j 


5 


■g 


= 


o3 


S+ 3 




a 


< 


C 


w 


3 


G 


p 



Middlesex 

Bushy 

I'.utylo l^mi.SE 

Bayport &mi.S.E. 



May port 



Hay port 





Sandy Bottom. 



near 



near 
1 mi. E. 



B. L. Farinholt 

Bland Bros Hammell & Hale. 

R. H. Bland & Co., 3 
wells Hammell & Hale. 



B. L. Farinholt L. Rude 



CJrbanna 
Urbanna 



L. Nelson L. Rude 

I). A. Taylor J. W. T. Robertson 



G. S. Chowning 11. E. Shimp... 

G. W. Hurley R. H. Milligan. 



Urbanna 

Urbanna 

Urbanna 14 mi. E. 



G. W. Harley, (2 wells).. H. E. Shimp... 

G. W. Harley, (2 wells).. L. Rude 

Hoskiss & Donaldson G. P. Beazeley. 



Urbanna 
Urbanna 



Urbanna Mfg. Co 

G. V. Wagemen G. V. Wagemen.. 



-M 1895 

1) 1902 

i 1894- 

O 190G 

M 1891 

1894 

01 1901 

1900 

DJ 1904 

1) L901 

6 1896' 

M 1902 
MX). - ) 



Ft. 

"6" 



\ r S E M OND 
Chuckatuek . 
Chuckatuck . 

I 1- 1% mi. E 

i rerets 

Everets 

Everets 



1 mi. E. Dr. Livins Langford. 



Josiab Gray 

G. A. Greene... 

H. Saunders 

T. J. Saunders. 



Tom Johnson 

M 

I . I . Wagner I) 

l . I . Wagner D 

r. E. Wagner D 

0. -M. Johnson 



1906 .... 
1908 25 



1904 
L904 

1904 
1896 



36 



Everets .... 



oli 1 mi. E. 

Suffolk 



E. E. "Wagner 

Naii-i-mond River Brick 

& Tile Co 

A. B. Cramer 

Gay M'fg Co 



E. E. Wagner. 



Suffolk 
Suffolk 



A. B. Cramer 

Sydnor Pump & Well 

Co 

Leach 



D 1900 8 

O 1902 1 5 
.. L905 55 



1896 55 

1 885 



Norfolk & Portsmouth 
Traction Co 



Urbanna . 
inna 

W;it. 

Ni:u Ki:\t 
Boulevard 



near 



1.. li. Wageman. 
Powcli & Son 



Sydnor Pump & Well 
Co 



M 



R. K. Milligan D 

Geo. Heflin 



1901 58 

5 

L906 LO 

L906 .... 



. a 
Lily P 



Plum Point aear 

Plum Point .... &mJ 



Win. Weber Sydnor Pump & Well 

Co 

1 Turner ll. E. Shimp M 

Richmond shooting and 

Bunting Club 11. 1 ■". shimp D 

Frederick Knoll J. V. Bray 

.1 . I. Richardson Frank E. Pearce 

i: I. Richardson P. II. Suet M 



L902 
L908 



L897 

1 391 
1896 



9 
12 



Ft. 

300+ 

280 

248 

260- 
300 

300 

297 
78 

250 

478 

275- 

290 

227 

272 

275? 
232 



188 

300 

100 

90 

50 

54 

100 

150 
253 

300 
250 



In. Ft. 



Ft. Ft. 



260 
110 

150 

168 
215 



tial Bow 25 gallons per minute. 
b Flowed :ii Qrst. 



1% ... 

iy 2 242 none 218 



1% 

1% 

1% 
2 

3 

1% 

1 
2 

1% 

1% 



7:. 



35 



227 

272 



300 .. 
50 ., 



1% 

VA 

1% 

114 50 



50 
74 



300 



1% 100 50, 80 80 



803? 


6 


250 


1% 


590 


3 


350 


2 



650? 



300 300 



4^ 265 

•j no 



224 



52 



1% 
1% 

1 



150 
168 



120 



220 

35 

165 
100? 



WELL DATA. 



319 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 


Head of water above mean 
high tide 


Yield per 
minute 


Temperature 


Quality 


Uses 


Material 


Group 

or 

formation 

1 


Flow 


Pump 

i 






Chesapeake 


Ft. 


Gal. ] Gal. 


°F. 


Soft 


Not used 




Calvert 


+16 


20 
16 






Soft 

Hard (?) 


General 


Shell rock 


Calvert 






Domestic, stock, 




Calvert 


+20 








canning factory, 
packing 
Drinking and 




Calvert 


+18 


20 


64 


cooking- 
Washing oysters, 


Rock 


Calvert 


% 






drinking 
Drinking 


Gravel 


Columbia(?) .... 
Calvert 


+2 








Domestic except 




3 






laundry 
Drinking, etc., at 




Pamunkey 

Calvert 


+25? 


75 




68 

66y 2 




boat yard 
Making ice 








Making ice 




Calvert 




+15 | 3 
+12 a 3 


105 




Making ice 


Under rock 


Calvert 




Soft , sulphur 


Boiler, pickling 




Calvert 










cucumbers 
Household 




Calvert 


+10 


5 




65% 






St. Marys 




No flow, abandoned 






+30 

+17 














St. Marys 

St. Marys 








Household 












Household 


Sand 


St. Marys 












Household 


St. Marvs 


+9 
+15 


2% 




58 




Household and 


White sand St. Marvs 


Soft 


stock 
Household 










No flow, abandoned 
















\o flow abandoned 


































Sand 


UpperCretaceous 
Calvert 


+32 




11 






Ice making 




63 
67 




Canning factory 




UpperCretaceous 
Calvert 


+34 




105 




Not completed 






Soft 


Pamunkev 

Pamunkey 


+32 












Sand 












White sand with 
black 


Pamunkey 

Chesapeake 


+ 40? 


3 










Shell rock 




58? 


Lime? 

Soft 


Domestic and stock 


Sand 


Chesapeake . , 
Pamunkev 


+12 
+15 b 






Domestic and stock 








6oy 2 


Store, household 




1 









320 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postoffice 



T3 
C 

c3 o 
o 

.2 o 



Owner 



Driller 









f» 








<X> 




+3 




03 




s 








X 




o 




S-i 


0. 

4^ 


a 

03 


Sh 




o 




& 


<D 


4^ 


4^ 


P 


03 


< 


ft 



o 





-a 












-a 


-a 




u 


<D 




CD 


,Q 




4J 






C3 


Ph 




& 


<D 






03 




03 


& 
















CD 






fl 


5 






o 


f-l 


O 


o 


o 




+3 








CD 


-G 


& 


s 




+3 


03 


P< 


a 


'3 


CD 


a 



STew Kent — Cont. 
Providence Porge 

Provifience Forge! 
Providence Forge 1 



%mi. NW 



E. B. Townsend. 



Whitehouse near S. E. 

Walkers near 

Norfolk 

Buell 

Buell l%mi. N. 



James Christian 

Southern Pine Lumber 

Co 

Southern Railway 

McCann 



E. H. Barney Co 

Pocomoke Guano Co. 



Buell 



N. 



Roanoke R. R. & 
Lumber Co 



Buell 

Greatbridge j % mi. N. 



Buell 



Lambert Point. 



Norfolk Crosoline Co. 
J. E. Hall 



Sydnor Pump & Well 

C 

H. E. Shimp 



P. H. Sweet.. 
H. E. Shimp. 



Walter Goodman. 



1902 
1908 

1907 
1893 
1909 



1906 



J. E. Hall. 



Norfolk & Western R. R.jA. L. Miller. 



Pinners Point Va. -Carolina Chem. Co. J. H. K. Shannahan 

Piney Beach %mi. N.E.Jamestown Exposition 

Co Norfolk Mfg. & Supply 

Co 

Norfolk City j 

Portsmouth Portsmouth Retail 

Lumber Corporation 
Rixton Geo. S. Bunting Geo. S. Bunting 



O 1902 



Northampton 
Cape Charles. 



Cape Charles. 
Cape Charles. 



l^mi.SE 



Cape Charles. 



New York, Phila. & 

Norfolk R. R. (24 wells) 
i ■ 

Wharton Fisheries Co 

Scott Estate 

Town and 17 wells 

Heckle & Kellogg 



T. M. Ward 

R. H. Milligan 

Eclipse Windmill Co. 



Capeville 3 mi. E. 

Cheriton 

Mockham Island 

Nassawadox 

Nassawadox ^^mi.NE 

Oyster near 

Oyster 



I 

J. H. Roberts. 

Huff Bros. ... 



W. A. Jones (2 wells). 

Thomas Upshur ... 

W. T. Travis 

W. T. Travis 



J. W. T. Robertson 

Huff Bros 

J. W. T. Robertson 



Oyster 

Bone Island 8mi.E. 

Willis Wharf.... 



W. T. Travis (3 wells), 

Ashton Starke 

W. Ballard 



W. M. E. Tilghman 

J. W. T. Robertson 

J. W.. T. Robertson 

J. W. T. Robertson 



1903 



1906 



Ft. 

20 
25(?) 

25 

5(?) 

25 



13 



Ft. 

216 
215 

220 
200 
200 



1907 
1890 



O 1900 

1899 

M 1 
M 



10 
10 



13 

10 



1902 



J. T. Walkley. 



O 1906 

D 1904 

D 1901 

D 1901 

M| 1901 

O 1906 

D 1905 



12 
10 



6 

15 



86 

53 

562 

50-75 

75 

562 
616 

40 



50 
140 

48 
575 



40, 
90 

249 

400 
16^0 

189 
63 
189 
75 
127 
185 
205 
175- 
200 

169 

98 



In. 

4% 

2 

2 

iy 2 

2 



Ft. 

216 
215 



200 
200 



2y 2 86 



1% 
5 
2 
3 



53 

60 
70 



12-3! 
6 110 



40 



Ft. 



12 



603 



2y 2 
6 

1% 

2-1 



10 



1% 
2 



IV2 
1% 
1% 
1% 

iy 2 
1% 

iy 2 



125 
16 



171 
175 



169 



46 

18 



Ft. 
215 



82 



260 
10, 
20, 
30, 
40, 
90 



'Initial flow 65 gallons. 



WELL DATA. 



321 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 


a 

o 

,0 

X 


Yield per 
minute 


u 
P 

CS 

u 


rv 
g 

| 


Quality 


Uses 


Group 
Material or 

formation 


Flow 


Pump 






Ft. Gal. 
+27? 


Gal. °P. 
61 








+20 

+25 






Domestic 

Drinking and boiler 
1 Domestic 
Domestic 


Sand Pamunkey 








Blue sand Pamunkey +13 


1% 




Soft 










Gravel, sand and 
shell Columbia 


±0 






Hard 


Boiler and domestic 

Drinking 
Not used 

Domestic and stock 
Domestic, stock and 
boiler 


Sand Columbia (?).... 












+10 








Irony 


Gravel 


+iy 2 ? 

+8 

+ 5 

+28 




70 


! Columbia (?).... 






Hard 


Calvert (?) 








Alkaline, saline 


Tine micaceous 


a 51 
30 




72 

• 


Saline 

Salty 


Drinking, washing 






Sand and gravel Columbia 

Yorktown (?) . 


-+-0 

+4 




Alkaline 


Drinking, boiler 
Abandoned 




























No flow, abandoned 

Locomotives, 
machine shops 


Sand Columbia 


+0 
+1 




10 


100 

80 






Gravel and sand St. Marys (?)... 




Brackish 







No flow, abandoned 




— Vo 








Good 


Town supply, mak- 
ing ice 
Domestic and stock 
Domestic 






























Domestic and stock 
Domestic and stock 
Domestic 
Domestic 

Boats, domestic 

and drinking 
Drinking, etc. 

Domestic 




1% 

2 

2 
















Soft, slightly sulphur-bearing 


















Sand Chesapeake 

Shells Columbia 


-6 


* 




Soft, slightly sulphuretted 

Bard 



22 



322 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 5 ( ( ontinued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postoffice 



c o 









~ 




T3 
















£5 


CO 

9 










C 




5 


,□ 










(3 




cS 


<H 








>> 


E 




& 


<15 








<u 






3 








+-> 






■"J 




61) 






03 


> 




- 




a 


Owner Driller 




H 


c 






W 
£ 
+J 


03 






t* 








c 


«w 




>i 


ST 


_* 








o 












O 


















-t-J 












4-> 










o 




CS « 


- « 


.- 


r* 


+o 






OJ 


>T3 


*^ P 




+J 


be 




-M 


-4-> 


aj+3 


- 


g 


c 


c 

93 



Q C 



near 



Northumber- 
land 

Bond Point 

Bond Point 

Coan near 

Coan near 



Coan 



Coan 3 mi. N. 

Coan , 

Cowart near S. E, 

Cowart 

Cowart , 

Fairport near S. E, 



A. M. Byers Chas. H. Jones M 1903 

L. Rude 

T. H. Fallin L. Rude O 1888 

T. H Fallin (2 wells).... Chas. H. Jones O 1896 

T. H. Fallin T. H. Fallin O 1898 



T. H. Fallin ( 

T. H. Fallin O 



Ft. 



53? 
1% 



Ft. 

200(?) 
265 
265 
270 



In. Ft. Ft. Ft. 



li/o 265 
1% 260 
iy 2 260 



310 iy 2 300 



S. Cowart Hammell & Hale. 

J. L. Dobyns 

L. Hedley 

MeGill & McNeal Co R. H. Milligan |0 1903 



O 1903 
M 



290 
318 

310 

288 



iy 2 310 

2 



Fairport 
Fairport 



Morris-Fisher Co. 



J. H. K. Shannahan M 1898 



Fleeton V s mi. SW Fleets Point Devel. Co...R. H. Milligan O 1904 

Fleeton Fleets Point Devel. Co... R. H. Milligan D 



Heathsville 1 mi. N. W. C. Snow S. E. Booth O 1896 

Hyacinth 2 mi. S.W. Roland Park Chas. H. Jones 1904 

Hopeside S. A. Whittaker S. A. Whittaker .. 1904 

Lewisetta Gavner Bros M 

Lewisetta C. R. Lewis & Co J. H. K. Shannahan .. 1894 

Lodge Vfcmi. S. Benj . Chambers (3 wells) L. Rude 

Mils near Hinton-Toulson Oil & 

Guano Co R. H. Milligan O 1904 10 



Mundy Point. 



Mundy Point. .. nearE. W. J. Courtney N. M. Shannahan O 1899 

Reedville near S.W. Edwards & Reed Co R. H. Milligan () 1902 

Reedville Haynie & Snow Co R. H. Milligan D 

Reedville Jas. C. Fisher R. H. Milligan M 1904 

Reedville McGill-McNeal Co R. H. Milligan D 1903 

Reedville near MeXeal-Edwards Co R. H. Milligan O 1902 



690 

662 
393 



746 

690 

265 

270(?) 

365 

325- 

700 

317 

255 

635 

270(?) 

268 
685 



683 
698 
680 
682 



2 

"i% 

2 
2 

2 

1% 
4 



690 
650 



240 
240 



280 



240 
400 
692 
710 
746 721 



90 



150 

310 



265 
*365* 



20 



5_2 

iy 2 240* none 100 



635 none 600 







682 


350 .... 


698 
680 
682 


400 



.... 



Reed vi lie 
Reedville 



near 



Albert Morris R. H. Milligan D 1!K)4 8 724 

Morris & Fisher Co 405 



690 none 690 



Pbincbss Anne 
Virginia Beach Princess Anne Hotel 1890 



73 
600 



Virginia P.each Princess Anne Hotel 1889 

783, 

12- 1 227. 

Waterway Norfolk City Water Wks. C. L. Parker 1898 11 1,750 4% 1,480 1^750' 



WELL DATA. 



323 



Table 5 (Continued) — -Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virgin in. 



Principal water beds 



Yield per 
minute 



Quality 



Uses 



Material 



Group 

or 
formation 



M 



<D 






s 


'C 






+a 


+J 






£ 








QJ 


6fl 


Flow 


Pump 


ft 


fl 






s 

Eh 



Ft. 

Calvert 

Calvert j flows 

Calvert |+12 

Calvert j +10 



Gal. 

iy 2 



Gal. 



Calvert. 

Calvert. 
Calvert. 



Rock Calvert i +8 

| Calvert j +6 



iy 2 

1 
1 

3 
2 



°F. 



63 



Soft, slightly sulphur. 



Drinking 
Canning factory 

and domestic 
Canning factory 

and domestic 
I Domestic 
Domestic 

Drinking 
Domestic 



Sand lUpperCretaceous \ +35 

Sand [UpperCretaceous +30 

! Calvert (?) ' 



45 

75 
2 



Soft 
Soft 



Boiler at fish 
factory 



Sand UpperCretaceous +35 40 

UpperCretaceous 10 



Sand Calvert (?), 

I Calvert 

Gravel and sand Calvert 



3 
1% 



62% 



Soft, alkaline 
Soft, alkaline 
Soft, sulphur 



Boats, domestic 

and stock 
Boats, domestic 

and stock 
Drinking 
Not used 



Gravel 3-18 

Calvert 17 

Porous rock Calvert I +14 



62 Slight sulphur 



Rock at 500 

Black sand UpperCretaceous +40 45 

Calvert j 1 , y s 



Calvert i +12 

Sand UpperCretaceous , 33 



30 



UpperCretaceous l 

lUpperCretaceous 

Sand [UpperCretaceous +38 

Sand and gravel UpperCretaceous! +25 



Sand UpperCretaceous +38 

UpperCretaceous 



45 
18 
50 
35 

40 



200 



Soft, alkaline 
Soft 



Soft, alkaline 
Soft 



Boilers, domestic 



Fish factory boiler 
Household and 
i stock 

Washing oysters 
Fish factory, 

boiler and drink- 
: ing 



Soft 

Soft, alkaline 



Soft 



Fish factory boiler 
Fish factory boiler 

and drinking 
I W ashing , drinking 



Columbia i ; Irony 



Sand Upper Cret's (?) +25? 



75 



Washing, etc., no 

longer used 
No flow, abandoned 



76 Saline, sulphur p art f public 

supply 



324 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postoffice 



Owner 



~E 



Driller 







ja 






-o 








be 

2 






<v 

,Q 

^- 
00 


00 

2 






c 






-u 






s~* 


eS 






13 


S-I 




>> 


a 






& 


£ 




Q> 








03 




e3 








"3 


£ 




s 


> 






•c 


(-i 




M 


c 

£5 






rt 






o 


cS 








4J 


>. 


ft 
Pi 


c 




s-i 


ft 

o 


c 
o 




03 


o 




<u 




+a 


■-. 








+i 






o 




03 tt> 


,4 




,a 


A 


— 


o 


5143 


+^> 


53 


+3 


3 


4^ 

n 


I 


03 

5 


ft 

c 




ft 



Princess Anne 
— Cont. 
Waterway 



City of Norfolk .. 1894 



Prince George 

Blairs 2 mi. W. David Dunlap 

City Point %mi.NW Misses Epps .. 

City Point y 8 mi . NW (Misses Epps . . 



Prince William 
Agnewville near E. Rufus Davis 



A. L. Davis M 1903 

Sydnor Pump & Well! 



Co. 



O 1905 
O 



Ft. 



65 

55 
55 



Henry Daniels. 



Ft. 

730 



307 



111 
53 



65 



Myron Washington Fertilizer Co. W. C. Miller D 1901 257 

B.Hale Hammell & Hale .. 1901 8 2-11 



Rich monk 
Downings V\ 



In. Ft. Ft. Ft. 
6-3 730 12, 300 .... 



4 60 .... 

6 103 85 103 



6 45 

127 
4 238 167 256 



1V 2 232 81 



Ivondale near E. Mrs. J. H. Lemoine O 1889 50 254 

Naylors A.A.Taliaferro H. E. Shimp D 1904 320 

Naylors near S . Waddington & Holme. . . L . Rude j O 1894 . . 



Xaylors near S. Waddington & Holme. 

Sharps %mi.NW;P. Y. Barber 



L. Rude 
L. Rude 



1893 
1899 



15 



Sharps A. J. Davis 

Sharps F. Downing 

Sharps 1 mi. N.E.J. M. McCarty 

Sharps Vimi.NWD. W. C. Sharp (2 wells) 

Sharps E. Sharp 

Sharps 14 mi. NW G. L. Smith & Bro. 

(2 wells) 



Sharps ^4 mi. NW 



J. B. Smith ... 
E. W. Garland. 



L . Rude 

L. Rude 

L . Rude 

L . Rude 

L. Rude 



Sharps Yi mi. NW 

Warsaw 3 mi. E. 

Warsaw ,E. W. Garland , 

Warsaw 3mi. S. W. A. Jones (2 wells). 

Warsaw 3mi. S. M. D. Kalbach 



L. Rude 

L . Rude 

E. W. Garland... 
W. S. Johnson.., 
— -Hale 



Warsaw 3mi. S. G. M. Sydnor (2 wells)... Hale 



Warsaw 2mi.E. Totuskey Canning Co. 

Warsaw Frank Garland 

Wellfords 2 mi. S.E. W. G. Brockenbrough . 



Wellfords H. T. Douglas, Jr. 

Wellfords near N. Frank Garland 



H. E. Shimp 

Hammell & Hale... 
L. Rude 



Sin 1 1 1 A M PTON 
Arringdale . 



near 



Camp Manufacturing Co. 

(4 wells) 

Boykins W. D. Barden 



Hammell & Hale. 
Hammell & Hale. 



J. T. Moore and 
others 



M 
6 

o 
o 



1) 

M 



1894 
1890 



1903 
1888 

1907 

1S99 
1893 

is: i:> 
1906 

1906 

1899 
1902 
1904 

1894 

1902 



10 
4 
3 

+3 

15 

4 
11 Vo 
10 
22 

8 

3 
5 

20 
4 



1891 30 



320 

386 
240 

325 
325 
240 

212 
230 

245 

255 

440 

188 

68 

200 

181 

180 

177 
165 
366 

227 

161 



75 
90 



2% 

1 



iy> 225 



iy 2 386 
1V 2 240 



2 240 

iy 2 212 
1% 



160 
250 
160 
250 
290 



386 



200 
200 



90 



188 



2 245 

iy 2 250 

230 

ly. 365 

2 187 

36 68 

iy 2 200 
iy 2 177 

m m 

1% 



65 185 



176 
50- 
177 

50 



% 366 
2 227 



180 

60, 

190 



300 



iy 2 


165 


114 


1% 

2 




30 



WELL DATA. 



325 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 



Material 



Group 

or 

formation 



'C bO 



Yield per 
minute 



Flow 



Pump 



Quality 



Ft. 



Sand Patuxent.. 

I Pamunkey 



+30 
1+15 



Gal. 
35 



Gal. 



Gravel. 



25 



Coarse sand and! 
gravel : Patuxent. 



Rock at 200 

gravel 

sand rock 
Sand 



Calvert 

Calvert 

Pamunkey 



55 



+18 
+6 



320 



Black sand [Pamunkey 



18 



+30 



Pamunkey +25 

Sand Calvert j +12 

Pamunkey +20 

Pamunkey I +20 

Gravel Calvert 1+26 

Sand Calvert |+16 

Rock iCalvert +9 



'F. 



63 



Hard 
Soft 



Soft 

Hard, iron and sulphur. 



Soft 



530 



63 



Gravel Calvert j 

Gravel Calvert ; +14 

Pine gray sand. . Pamunkey (?)... 

Sand ICalvert +36 

ICalvert +30 

Calvert 

Sand ICalvert +20 

Black sand Calvert +20 

Calvert j +20 

Rocky clay Calvert 

Clay Pamunkey +20 

Rock Calvert 

Shell rock Calvert 



16 

16 

i 

2' 
12 
5 



:St. Marys +40? 6 

|St. Marys +10 



62% 



60 
61 



62 
62 



62? 



+40 

4-99 



3y 2 

24 



Soft 
Soft 
Soft 

Soft 

Soft 



Soft 

Soft, sulphur 



Soft, sulphur 
Sulphur, iron 
Soft 



Uses 



Not used 



No flow, not used 



Household 
Abandoned 



Domestic 
Boiler, domestic 



Domestic 
Household 



Domestic and can- 
ning factory 

Domestic and stock 
Household and 
stock 



General 

Washing oysters 
Canning factory 

Washing oysters, 

drinking 
Household 



Drinking 



Domestic 

Boiler at saw mill 

Drinking and can- 
ning factory 
Canning factory 



Household and 

stock 
Household 

Tomato canning 
factory, drinking 



Hard Domestic and stock 

Slightly alkaline , 



326 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postoffiee 



-r 

* s 
u 

= = 
.2 o 



Owner 







fl 








tuo 
















■« 








c 






/— V 


c3 






>> 


2 




« 


H 




-l-> 






a 


QJ 





fe 



Driller 



Q 



C3 O 
p.T3 



a 


c3 


bn 
g 






09 


c 


0> 


crt 


■0 


o 




4J 




- 


o 


•M 


c 


o 

43 


I 


.c 


43 


-U 


•*j 


-tJ 


tr 


— 




c 



a 



Southampton — 
Cont. 
Boykins 



M 



Ft. 



J. W. Drury 

Boykins E. H. Grizzard M 

Boykins M. J. Knight 

Boykins R. M. Knight M 

Boykins Henry de Laathe M 

Boykins |P. M. Powell P. P. Ellis M 

Boykins near W. A. Powell P. P. Ellis O 1903 

Boykins Town of Boykins M 

Boykins Iw. W. White J. T. Moore M 



Branehville 
Branchvillc 
Branchville 
Branchvillc 
Branchvillc 



near P. G. Ellis 

near P. P. Ellis 

2 mi. S.E. B. H. Beale 

near Grizzard Bros. & Co. 



R. G. Ellis O 1901 

P. P. Ellis |0 

P. P. Ellis |D 15(?) 

P. P. Ellis M 



Ft. 

105 
87 
98 

110 
90 

100 
85 
85 

130 

250 



In. Ft. Ft. 

2 

iy 2 

2 



Ft. 



85 none 85 



130 



near T. J. Harrell George Wilkins. 



. M 



Branchvillc 

Capron 

Capron 



near 



IT. E. Peat ,P. P. Ellis D 

Trent & Vinson O 

Trent & Vinson ! O 

Courtland R.F.Whitfield J. T. Moore D 

Courtland Bain & Co J- T. Moore M 

T. Moore D 

T. Moore p 



35 



20 

50(?) 
50(?) 



1910 28 



Courtland near Town 

Courtland Williams & Ketcham. 

Courtland W . Shands 

Courtland near \y. J. Sebrell D 



J. T. Moore d 

George Wilkins }j 



M 
O 



Courtland 2mi.S. w. A. Howell. 

Delaware near Seaboard Air Line 

Franklin V 2 mi. N. Camp Manufacturing Co. 

(17 wells) 

Franklin J. L. Camp 

Franklin R. H. B. Cobb 

Franklin p. F. Darden I 

Franklin \V. H. L. Goodman O 

Franklin Goodman & Barrett O 

Franklin O. W. Hayes O 

Bugo near Farmers' Mfg. Co P. P. Ellis p 



1909 15(?) 



10 
70 



207 



130 
400 
225 
165 
140 
125 
160 
170 
160 
207 
175 

130 
190 



2 250 
. ... 235 

1 130 
. ... 150 

2 90 
140 
160 

iy 2 130 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 
2 
2 



15- 

150 



V2.-, 



1V 2 130 



1908 



18 



177 
154 
142 
150 
125 



Bands . 
Sebrell 

Storeys 

Sedley 



near 
near 



T. H. Barrett P. P. Ellis d 

Tidewater Railway Co... Sydnor Pump & Well 

I Co O 1907 58 

J. T. Moore J. T. Moore O 55(?) 

Philip Rogers J. T. Moore O m oqo' 



222 



344 



125 none 
•222 



10 
*2% 



344 



SrOTTSl I \ \ma 

1 rlcksburg 



Ba< I Jtle. .. 



^mi.NWE. D. Cole -Alexander o 10O2 50 



near \\ . A. Warren A. L. Spandour 1896 84 

Bacons Castle... iml.E A. L. Spandour 1804 " 1 

Dendroo Surry Lumber Co isss 125 

iod 2ml. S.E. w. i'. Gray whitmore M isso 5 



152 



460 



150 



150 



400+ 1% 
6 



Homewood J 4 mi. S"W \\ . 1 . Ghray Whitmore 

Homewood 1 mi. NW|W. P. Ghray Whitmore 



M irs.'; 

M 1888 



386 
815 

219 



250 

240 



1% 








80 

















WELL DATA. 



327 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 


Head of water above mean 
high tide 


Yield per 
minute 


Temperature 


Quality 


Uses 


Material 


Group 

or 

formation 


Flow 


Pump 








Ft. 


Gal. 


Gal. 


°F. 

























































































St Marys 




3 











































3 












UpperCretaceous 
UpperCretaceous 


Drinking, fish pond 




32(?) 


20 








Soft 


Domestic and stock 








• 




+35 

+35? 
30(?) 
30(?) 
37 


5 
20 


8 
8 




Soft 


Domestic 


Soft 


Domestic and stock 




















Chesapeake (?).. 







Soft 


Domestic 














































Chesapeake (?).. 
Chesapeake (?).. 
Chesapeake (?).. 


32(?) 


small 
24 








































Domestic 


White sand 

White sand 


Chesapeake (?).. 
Chesapeake (?). . 


+22 
+26 










Drinking and stock 




















White sand 

White sand 
















Chesapeake (?).. 
Chesapeake (?). . 
Chesapeake (?). . 

Upper Cret's (?) 
Upper Cret's (?) 

Potomac 


+23 
+23 
+ 22 

45 

+ 45 

+ 43 


2 
2 
5 

2 



















White sand 

White micaceous 














Soft 










Sand and gravel 






106 




Soft 




























Patuxent 


+30 























hold 






+ 30 


10 





63y 2 


Soft 


used. 
Drinking, making 
brick 


Soft rock 




Calvert 

Calvert 

Calvert 


+35 


2V 2 




62% 

64V2 




Household and 
stock, formerly 
boiler 

Domestic and stock 





















328 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN* PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postoffice 



03 q) 

- S 



Owner 



.e 
bo 



Driller 



>> 


0) 






4) 


ti 






+J 








oS 


05 
> 








o 






y. 


JD 






















































r. 


















03 


0) 


_z 


s 


> 


- 


*5 



3 03 

< P 



H 



Sikkv — Cont. 
Homewood , 
Homewood 



near 
at 



W. F. 

\V. F. 



Gray. 
Gray. 



Ft. 

A. L. Spandour M 1S87 6 

A. L. Spandour M 1887 6 



Waku [CK 

Leehall near J. Clements S. H. Fellterholf D 1906 48 

Menchville M 25 

Mulberry Is S. Phillip Lederhor H. E. Shimp 1904 5 



Mulberry Is. 



at 



H. Wright H. E. Shimp O 1900 10 



Newport News Old Dominion Land Co. 30 

Newport News Old Dom. Brewing Co.. H. E. Shimp D 1907 

Tidewells near N. C. E. Daiger Chas. H. Jones O 1896 8 

1898- 

Tuekerhill 3 mi. E. J. R. Dor Passor Chas. H. Jones O 1906 5-15 

(15 wells) 

Tuckerhill 3 mi. S.E.J. R. Dor Passor Chas. H. Jones O 1903 1 

Tuckerhill 3 mi. S.E. Chas. H. Jones Chas. H. Jones O 

Tuckcrhill 3mi.N".W. Jas. S. Sydnor Chas. H. Jones...... O 1894 14 

White Point at D. W. Allen Jones & Allen O 1896 

White Point V 2 mi. S. D. W. Allen Chas. H. Jones O 1898 

White Point y 2 mi.N.E. G. L. Wilson ..Chas. H. Jones O 1901 10 

Wilkerson V 8 mi. N. Gouldman Bros 

Wilkerson l mi. W. L. C. Hardy Chas. Pfeil O 1904 20 

Wilkerson 1 mi. W. I.. C. Hardy E. Gouldman O 80 

Wilkerson near \V. S. Wilkerson Chas. Pfeil L903 4 

Wilkerson near W. S. Wilkerson Chas. Pfeil 1906 7 

Zacata 3 mi. W. W. E. Goodridge Chas. H. Jones O 1904 12% 

Zacata 3 Vfc mi. E. Westmoreland Oyster 

Packing Co Chas. II. Jones 1900 3% 

WBSTMOBBLA M' 

Bealei near Beale & Biddle Chas. Jones O 1899 2 

Chiltons Hardwick & Sanford Chas. Jones <> 1903 10 



-o 






0, 




2 


o 


£ 


«a 




03 


■■~ 


& 


o> 




S3 






1 «3 


& 


& 












^ 


£3 

+3 




c 


O 


c 


•tJ 


+3 


JZ 




+a 


+a 


P. 




OJ 


O) 


£ 


P 



Ft. In. Ft. 

330^?) 1% 

330(?) 1% 



Coles Point E. C. Barnes 

Coles Point "4 mi. S.E. John Bronson Chas. Jones () 1896 

Point S. W. Godman 

Point V, mi. K. Win. Mayo I.. Rude D 1907 

Colonial Uracil., near N.W. Theodore Barnes 1902 

Colonial Beach.. %mi. SW Mrs. Bell O 1890 

Colonial Beach.. iHmi.N.E. M. a. & E. S. Bentley <) 1894 

Colonial Beach.. 'oini.SW I>. C. & ].. J. Connelly (has. Pfeil 19W 

Colonial Beach.. '.inii.N. Colonial Beach Hotel 

' 5 wrlls i M 

Colonial Beach., ! -.n::.\. Mrs. 0. a. Eckstein.... Chas. Pfeil 

Colonial l'.each.. l ml. S. J. 0. Pelch Chas. Pfeil 

<'oioniai Beach.. % mi. SW E. Gouldman i:. Gouldman 



15 

10 

9 

10 

10 



Colonial Beach Jol 

Colonial Reach. . Dear w T. 



1 1 ammond chas. 

1 1 arrison 



Pfeil 



M 


I'.IW 


12 


o 


i 31 18 


6 


M 


L905 


10 





1904 


15 





L903 


6 


o 


1896 


L2 



460 
300 
384 

370 

582 

500 

225 

235- 

250 

90 
245 

248 

240 
240 
216 
240 
248 
470 
235 
235 

160 

158 

175 
155 

220 

216 

207 
360 

240 
200 
200 
21 1 

212 
L96 
224 
245 



2001; 

200 



2 

2-1 ..... 
1 370 



200 
275 



1% 
1% 



7(i 



240 



228 



1% 240 

1% 240 

2 210 12, 20 

1V 2 

1% 



1% 

1% 
1% 

1% 

1% 



152 



172 
155 



205 



11., JIM) 

L% 



IV2 
1% 



212 
196 



2ooy 3 



Ft. Ft. 



2 180 

225- 
1V 2 235 40 



70 
120 

64 

SO 

80 
28 



IV2 

1M: 

2- 

1% 158 1.", 



40 



85 



1V 2 350 220 350 
240 



60 



80 
200 



WELL DATA. 



329 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Material 



Rock 



Sand 





> 


Yield 


per 






,Q 


minute 






& 








t-i 








o 








-u 








03 




£ 




£o 






3 




T3 






+J 




<H"T 






cS 


Group 


0+" 

"O to 






s 


or 


Flow 


Pump 


~ 


formation 


OS-- 

M 









Quality 



Uses 



Ft. 



Calvert +35 



Gal. 

4 
3 



Gal. 



+30 
Calvert (?) 1+22' 



Calvert (?), 



Calvert. 
Calvert. 



Gravel St. Marys. 

Calvert 



Rock and sand.. Calvert. 



Sand Calvert 

Sand Calvert 

Calvert — 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 



Pamunkey 
Pamunkey 



Sand Pamunkey 

Sand Pamunkey 



+29 
+20 
flows 



% 



1 

y 2 -i 

3 



63% 



67 



Domestic and stock 

Never used, no flow 

Alkaline Drinking, stock, 

J boats 

63% | Alkaline Domestic stock and 

medicinal 

Never used, no flow 

Abandoned 

Soft House and stock 



62-63 



1% 

i 



61 



Household and 

' stock 

Ferruginous 

' Household and 

stock 
Soft Household and 

stock 



Soft Canning factory 



+22 | Domestic and stock 

! ]No flow, not used 

3% 62 Drinking and public 

1% 61 Hotel 



Soft Domestic and stock 

iSoft Domestic and stock 



Calvert. 
Calvert. 



Calvert 

Calvert 

Calvert 

Rock cays 210- 

230, sand Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Thin rock at 220, 

chocolate col'd 

clay Pamunkey 

Sand Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 



+12 

flows 

+30 



; General 

Soft Tomato cannery 

and domestic 



iy 2 Sulphur 



Domestic and stock 



flows 



6 Soft House and stock 

61 Household 

7 /s 61 Household 

14 Hotel 

2 Soft Household 



15 



y s 



61 
61 



All 

Household 

Household 



+19 



3 !• 

4-1 V 2 ■ 

y 2 ;• 



Soft Household 

62% Ice manufacture 

641/2 Household 



330 



UNDERGROUND WATK1! IfKSOL'RCES OF COASTAL PLA1X PROVINCE. 



T.\i:i.i: 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 






- 



( ounty 

ami 

Pi istofBce 



< >wner 



Driller 



o 
— 

- - 



P P 



Wes pmobeland 

— Cont. 
Colonial Beach. 



2 mi. s\v 



l.. \v. Jett L. W. Jett. 



Ft. 
O 1901 1 ."» 



Colonial 
( lolonial 
Colonial 

Colonial 
Colonial 
Colonial 
Colonial 
Colonial 
Colonial 
Colonial 
Colonial 



Uracil. 

Beach. 

Beach. 
Beach . 
Beach. 
Beach. 
Beach. 
Beach. 
Beach. 
Beach. 
Beach . 



Colonial Beach. 
Colonial Beach. 
Colonial Beach. 

Colonial Beach. 



W. Dr. A. E. Johnson 1899 10 

\V. I). Knowlton C. Jones <> L902 20 

y 2 mi. N. M i: Loeffler K. Gouldman o 1906 20 

i4mi.s\\ Mutual Ice Co R. Rude D 1909 5 

S. W. Masruinnis Estate Graves M L898 9 

2mi.SW o. L. Massey M 1900 

near X. \. Mensch Chas. Pfeil D 6 

near Pierson Chas. Pfeil D 1S97 8 

nearX. Rdi & Ninde 1900 10 

V 2 mi. W. John Sebastian E. Gouldman n 

i/ 2 mi.NW .1. R. Sutton Chas. Pfeil () 1905 18 

1 mi. S. J. M. Taylor Roane () 1896 4 

\. .1. W. Thompson 1904 20 

W. Town Roane M 11 

i mi. s. Town M 1902 8y 2 



Colonial Beach., near SAV. p. W. Walcott Johnson <> isks n> 



Colonial lirach 
Colonial Beach. 
Erica 

Erica 



Erica ... 

Hague . 

HinnoHi 
Hinnom 
Kin-ale 

Kinsale 



S. \V. c \V. Welles (has. Pfeil o 1904 

Cmi.sW 0. W. Welle- Chas. Pfeil L900 

1 % mi. E. N. T. Ames Chas. Jones () 1902 

iy 2 mi.SW Paul Detrick M L900 

nearS.W. k. T. Barnett Chas. H. Jones <> 1903 

3%mi.N.G. K. Brown (3 wells)... L. Rude o 1894 



I. B. Hall Chas. 11. Jones O 1897 

mar llanluick & Sanford Chas. 11. Jones <> 1903 

'..mi.N.K. <;. p. Bailey G. P. Bailey o 1894 



G. P. Bailey chas. n. Jones 



Kin-ale »i. P. Bailey 

Kin-ali' ^mi.N.i:. Dameron & Courtney. 



Chas. li. Jones .. 

I.. Rude 



L901 



1903 
1893 



13 
15 

8 

2 

S 
8 

6 



Kinsale umi.N.K. s. b. Hard wick L892 6 

Kinsale %mi.N.E. V. B. llanluick 1902 8 

Kinsale i mi. N. Chas. Taylor chas. H. Jones 1903 7 

Maple drove. . i mi. k. Floyd Omohundro i . Gouldman 1905 60 

Meter B. H. Bronson 

Meter '•, mi. w. II. I.. Shepard Chas. H. Jones L896 fi 

Mount Molly.... £mi. E. 8. J. Hopkins chas. II. Jones 1897 i 

Mount Holly.... near Noininie Packing Co.... < ha.-. II. Jones <> 1903 9 

Oak Grove 2mi. 8. W.Andrew Flanmer Shaw & Roane 1897 



Oak Grove Andrew Flanmer < > 



Ft. 

230 

225 
250 
244 
422 
214 
225 
204 
208 
225 
80 
280 

210 
242 
225 
247 

276(?) 

214 
214 

187 

827 

335 

247 

144 
154 
238 

238 



275 
245 



245 

260 

800 
240 
227 
L35 

158 
664 

63 



In. Ft. Ft. 

iy> 222 75 



1% 200 

1% 417) 220 

1% 

iy 2 

1% 204 

iy 2 

1 225 

L% 

iy 2 230 



Ft. 



■-> 




t0 


1% 


■' 12 . 








1% 

iy 2 

i% 

1% 
i% 

i% 

3 
2 

iy> 
1% 
i% 

^ 

i% 

i% 

1% 

1% 






230 none 

21 4 70 
214 


80 
86 


187 


100 






947 


144 

144 


44 


235 

235 

235 


287) 
40 

40 


260 L90 


100 

40 
220 

140 

40 







1 
2 

1', 
1% 

48 






iss 

L53 144 

309 


25 

50 
110 










WELL DATA. 



331 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 




Yield 


per 




minute 




/ 


9 










3 






+j 






g 






o 


Mow 


Pump 


S 
Eh 



Quality 



Uses 



Gal. 



Gal. 



Sand 



White sand. 
Rock 



Pamunkey . . : . . 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey I 15 

Potomac 

Pamunkey | +15 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 



y 2 

Ye 
% 
6 

1% 



°P. 
61 

eoy 2 

62 



Household and 

public 
Household 
Household 
Hotel 

Making- ice 
Household 
Household 



% 



61 



+12 



Black sand. 

Red clay 

Clay 

Gravel 



Sand 

Rock at 200 feet 

White sand 

Rock 



Pamunkey . , 
Pamunkey . , 
Pamunkey . . 
Pamunkey . . 

+18 
Pamunkey +10 

Pamunkey +14 

Pamunkey +6 

Pamunkey +9 

Pamunkey" 

Pamunkey +12 

Pamunkey 



y 5 
y 3 



% 
2% 



64% jSoft, sulphur 

Sof t , sulphur 

|Soft, sulphur Hotel 

Soft, sulphur [Plow stopped 

Soft, sulphur Hotel and store 

Soft, sulphur ' 

Soft, sulphur 'Plow stopped, not 

used 

Soft, sulphur Household 

Soft, sulphur Household 

Soft, sulphur Public 

Soft, sulphur Public 



63 
63 
61 



Soft, irony Domestic and hotel 



62 



Soft , sulphur Household 

Soft Household 

iSoft, sulphur Household and 

stock 
65 Soft Household and 

stock 
Irony Household and 

stock 
Soft, sulphur Household and 

stock 



Chesapeake 

Chesapeake ' +20 

Chesapeake +18 

Chesapeake +16 



; Chesapeake 

Sand i Chesapeake 



-18 



'Chesapeake +18 



1% 
18 
4 



63% 



64 



Soft Canning factory 

Steamboat and can- 
ning 

Canning factory 

and steamboat 
dock 



Sand Chesapeake +15 

Sand Chesapeake 

White sand +20 



I Soft [Canning factory 

and drinking 

! Canning factory 

and drinking 



61 



"Slightly hard" 



Canning factory 
and drinking 

Household and 
stock 

Not used, no flow 



flows 

Rock at 125 feet. Chesapeake flows 



Rock -. (Chesapeake 



+18 



63 



63 



Soft, slightly sulphur. 
Soft, sulphur 



Domestic 
Household and 
stock 



Chesapeake 



No flow, never 

completed 
Household 



332 



["XDEKGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



County 

and 

Postoffice 



Si 





£ 






•a 






S 








-a 

* 




- 






+3 












03 


(H 


>> 


o 




* 


a) 


<o 










03 


-*-> 








C5 


> 


- 


- 






a 





Owner 



Driller 



X 


,o 





03 






Pi 




a 


C 


03 


c 








■p 




93 O 


« 


>•= 



03 — 



Westmoreland 

— Cont. 

Oak Grove 2 mi. W. W. D. Wirt. 

Potomac Mills.. 4 mi. N. E. James Muse. 



Chas. Pfeil .... 
F. K. Walcott. 



O 
M 



i*( IRK 

Grove 5mi.S.W.A. G. Haruood H. E. Shimp M 

lackey 1 mi. N.E.Mrs. K. Kirkwood H. E. Shimp M 

Magruder 2mi.N.E M 

Messick 2mi.N.\V. s. J. Marynham .1 . W. T. Robertson .. 

oaktree 3mi.E. Edward Maynard S. H. Felterholf D 

Yorktown 3mi.N.WG. B. Donnellv H. E. Shimp and S.l 

H. Felterholf D 



1894 
1900 



l'.n:; 
1903 
1890 
1904 
1905 

1903 



Ft. 


Ft. 


23 


190 


22 


280 


30 


429 




450 


2 


226 



In. Ft. 

2 190 

3 280 



Ft. 



II 



90 
367 

429 



2 
1 
1% 



429 
450 



none 
300 



Ft. 
40 



60 



Yorktown omi.N.W Squires S. H. Felterholf. 



Yorktown ; Am. Cem. & Eng. Co... H. A. McTavish. 

Williamsburg ... 4 mi. N. | S. H. Felterholf. 



D L906 



M 



1909 
I'.mm; 



G 358 
3 750 



a 



70 



750 



WELL DATA. 



333 



Table 5 (Continued) — Data of wells in Coastal Plain Province of Virginia. 



Principal water beds 


Head of water above mean 
high tide 


Yield per 
minute 


o 
s- 


S3 
U 
& 

z. 

B. 

0J 

Eh 


Quality 


Uses 


Material 


Group 

or 

formation 


Flow 


Pump 






Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Pamunkey 

Chesapeake 


flows 
flows 
+20 
+20 


Gal. 

Vz 


Gal. °P. 


Soft 

Soft 


Domestic and stock 


Eock at 80 ft. 




Domestic and stock 





Domestic, boiler 




4% 
20 




Domestic and stock 


















Domestic 




Pamunkey 


+25 

+38 

+28 

+10 
+25 


1% 

4 

3 

1 

10-1 






Household 


Green rock 








Household and 










stock 
Household and 








"Good" 


stock 










Drinking, &c. 











• > • > I 



I XKKRGROUXL) WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 6 — Analyses and field assays (F) of water from springs. 



County and locality 



Name of Spring 



Owner 



A i. i:\AMUiiA 

Ballston Powhatan 

Glencarlyn Erup Mineral H. 

(haki.es city 

Oldfleld A. 

Oldfleld A. 

Chestbbpibld 

Bon Air Beauf ont 



Source 





go 


n 




•a 


a 




o 


c3 


T3 




"5 


■Q 


zi 


Cj 


- 


-*j 


Ml 


o 


C 


U 


H 


^ 


O 





GO 




V 




T3 








K 




C 




s 




3 




a 








E'" 


! 


SO 






« 


K 3 


o 


•o+i 


w 


G "1 


^ 


CSO 




n 


e3 


o 


w 


C(=hI 




; - 






M 


i—i 



Jl. 



M. 



Granite. 
Young Gravel.. 



Wheeler Sand 

Wheeler Sand 



Beauf ont Lithia 

Spring Water Co... Granite. 
Buckhead Springs Buckhead Chloride Lithia.. T. S. Wheelwright. .. Sand .. . 



Manchester Bellfont Lithia Granite 

Manchester Fonticello Lithia W. G. Taylor Granite 

Manchester Lion Lithia Virginia Lithia 

Springs Co Sand 

Temples Carapfleld Lithia Campfield Lithia 

Water Co 

Swansboro Holly Lithia Holly Springs Co . ... Sand and gravel 

Swansboro Holly Lithia Holly Springs Co . ... Sand and gravel 



38.0 
47.8 



73.17 
61.08 



63. 
43. 

45. 
46. 

28.1 

28. 

35.6 

35.4 



12. 



9.0 



17.4 
19.65 



16. 

7.4 

14. 
14. 

10. 

5.3 

10.7 
11.2 



Wiseville Rocky Run Lithia 

Essex 

Meade Sulphur 



Chas. 



Tombs Sand and iron 

crusts 

Meade Sulphur Chas. Tombs Sand 



Gloucesteb 

James Store ' County 



Marl. 



.0 



Ha NOVBB 

Hanover Station R. F. & P. Ry. 

Kllerson B. A. Taliaferro. 



Sand 

Sand 



[CO 

Barton Heights Town Marl and sand.. .0 

East Richmond Como Lithia I. J. Hawkes Sand and gravel 

Elko R. W. Swift Sand 

Richmond County Sand j .0 

Richmond Borne brewing Co. .. Gravel 



19. 



106. 
34. 



6.2 



42. 
tr. 



124. 16. 



5.4 



'Ammonium (NH*), 
''Ammonium (NH*), 
Ammonium (NH*), 
'Barium (Ba I, 
'Barium (Ba), .008. 
r Barium (Ba), trace. 



.069. 
.016. 
.013. 



.2 
.1 



.25 
.1 

1. 
1.6 

.11 



.29 
.35 



David Adkins 1.1 



1.5 
tr. 



.0 



.08 



.03 
.1 
tr. 



tr. 



ANALYTICAL SPRING DATA. 



335 



Table 6 (Continued) — Analyses and field assays (F) of water from springs. 



A 
.53 



.07 

.78 



.53 















. 




/-s 




















<* 

O 

OQ 
«! 


o 

ft 


O 

0Q 


M 

O 






















03 


'*~ s 




to 










4) 




03 


"3 


03 


o 


a 


u 

H 


03 


M 

a 


3 


•3 

03 

F-l 


T3 
03 
Fh 

03 


03 

'6 

S3 


3 

03 

3 


a 

03 


a 


3 


a 


.a 

03 

oo 
03 
•*> 
O 


a 


9 


03 
-CI 

a 


03 

03 


C3 

a 

o 

Fh 

03 


5 


■"3 


.2 


O 


73 

o 


.a 

+2 


a> 

OQ 

H 


o 


P. 

"3 


S 




^ 


OQ 


OQ 


ft 


Hi 


-53 


ft 


cc 


o 



pq 



^ : G 



fc I £ 





/"N 




M 




ft 










1— 1 




w 


03 




a 


03 


a i 


-H 


o 


o 

t— 1 


ffl 



o 
o 

D 



»-i r2 



Analyst 



O 



03 



tr. 



4.5 
2.25 



1.4 
1.4 



1.9 

2. 



:S 

.8 


tr. 















tr. 
.022 1.0 



1.86 
1.35 



■40. 



little 
0.(?) 



much 



1. 
1.8 



1.5 

.8 



1. 

2.5 



.4 

.61 



.9 

.47 

.35 

.46 



3.7 
5.7 



1.2 

1.5 



0. a 
tr. 



0. 



10.45 S3. 18 
9.2 3. 



4. 
3.6 

3.8 
3.5 

2.98 

3.2 
2.8 
4.6 



2.1 

2.3 

2.9 
1.5 

1.2 

1.9 
1.4 

1. 



1.1 ,1.6 



.07 
.001 

.03 
.08 

.011 

.05 
.09 
.033 

.07 



tr. 
ft.tr. 



tr. 

.039 

tr. 
tr. 



0. 



0.04 
.009 



.11 .02 .7 



.86 
mod. 


8.6 



1.1 



2.2 



4.7 



.01 



2.1 



.07 



.04 

.035 

.03 
tr. 
.03 



1.2 

3.3 



2.57 
2.10 



1.3 

.72 

10. 
2.5 

4.1 

2.4 

2.47 

4.3 

6.3 



12. 
9.1 



1.55 



tr. 



3.8 
6.3 



19051 J. 
1905 J. 



K. 
K. 



Haywood 
Haywood 



11.823.85 
10.8 3.32 



10.61 ;1908 

7.40 : '1908 



15. .... 
3.1 |8.8 


.06 


tr. 


5.3 i 






13. i 






3.9 .... 


.11 


tr. 


8. !o.o 

10.7 .... 
4.8 |2.7 


tr. 
tr. 

tr. 


tr. 



tr. 

>30 



>30 



1.2 



5.2 , Henry Froehling 

11 1904 Froehling & 

Robertson 

5.8 .... W. H. Taylor 

5.4 j J Henry Froehling 

3.6 Froehling & 

Robertson 

5.2 N. B. Tucker 

2.8 |1894 C. H. Chalkey 

4.4 1907 Froehling and 

Robertson 



24. 
10. 



0. 180. 



tr. 



.03 



0. 
2.3 



15. 

2.7 



tr. 



.41 

tr. 



6.5 



7.9 
58. 
12. 



.... 




4. 
4. 


8.8 








9. 


.44 


tr. 


.... 


3.1 

16.5 


.39 


tr. 


10 
3. 








5.5 


tr. 






37. 









44. 
28. 



1906 S. Sanford (F) 
1906 S. Sanford (F) 



75. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 



17. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 
3.1 i '' Henry Froehling 



32.5 



58. 
48. 
46. 



1905. E. O. Levy 
1892 Henry Froehling 
1906 S. Sanford (F) 

1906 S. Sanford (F) 

1907 First Scientific 

Station for the 
Art of Brewing 



336 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 6 (Continued) — Analyses and field assays (F) of water from springs. 



County and locality 



Name of Spring 



Owner 



Source 





t-t 








O 




O 








-a 




C3 




X 




s 




o 




£ 




S 




a 




3 




03 




a 




O 




S « 




> 




So 


02 


>o 




eg.-. 


-o 


C 


O 


<! 


S 


03 


-D + 


o 




CO 






O 




asO 


-3 

4J 


a 

cS 


c3 




C 






o^— 


& 


O 


-Ji 


^ 



^ 



Jambs City 

"Williamsburg 



Mrs. R. M. Smith.... Marl 



King Gbobge 
Hickory Fork Sand 



King William 
Enfield 



New Kent 
Whitehouse Belmont Lithia 



G. W. Scott 



Sand 



R. E. Richardson Marl. 



NOKF( >J.K 



Prince George 
Blair 

Warwick Church 



White Oak Mineral I 

Landale Mineral Spring | Sand 



221. 



146. 
87. 



33. 



5.4 
5.3 



Princess Anne 
Waterway 



David Dunlop 

Warwick Church Sand 



Diamond \ Sand 



Spottsylvania 

Fredericksburg Aqueduct Co Sand and gravel — 

Fredericksburg Gunnery City I Sand and gravel .0 

Fredericksburg Mint City Sand and gravel tr . 

Fredericksburg Silk Mill j . . . . i .0 



SUBRY 

Claremont E. S. Collins Marl. 

Claremont Trepho Lithia E. E. Harry Sand 

Claremont Trepho Lithia E. E. Harry Sand 



157. 



207. 60. 39. 
573.'" '.'.'.'. 34." 



Sussex 
Waverly 

Wavcrly 



Cappahaunk I Marl. 

Cappabaunk Marl . 



293. 



23. 



Westmoreland 

Kinsale Chas . Taylor 



Sand 



.0 



tr. 



4.7 



tr. 



.06 



tr. 
tr. 



tr. 
'.'08 



.04 
1.5 
2.9 



3. 



"Also contains Barium (Ba), .15; Strontium (Sr), .10: Zinc fZn), faint trace. 



ANALYTICAL SPUING DATA. 



337 



Table 6 (Continued) — Analyses and field assays (F) of water from springs. 



a 

03 

a 

03 



03 

o 

a 

p 

O 







bo 




a 


Pi 


w 


CO 



w 



CO 


3 


OS 


,C 


o 




fc 


3 



5 

03 
0Q 



K 



^ , M 



g 



pq 



o 



6 




o 




03 




O 




VI 




03 




CO 




oa 




<B 




d 




1 13 




Pi 




03 








^ ' 




,_, 




03 


4> 


•-W 


+3 


C 


03 


Eh 


P 



Analyst 



much 

little 

little 

.053 .16 34. 1.8 



5.5 3.4 .01 



.... >30 

tr. 

tr. 

.26 ! 3.5 



160. 
30. 



21. 2.8 ....14. 3.6 

.18 tr. 5.8 2.5 ....14. 1.3 .01 tr. 



little 
little 



29. 
28 



>30 
>30 



18. 








32. 


tr. 






55. 






9.2 


.... 

5.5 


.009 


tr. 



9.5 140. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 
10 1906 S. Sanford (F) 

7.6 31. 1906 S. Sanford (P) 

2.7 W. H. Taylor 



15. 
13. 



... W. H. Taylor 
... S. Sanford (P) 



42 ....3.1 55. 1906 S. Sanford (P) 

42 4.5 33. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 



little 
little 



1.95 



9.9 



6.4 



35. 7.6 

some I 

2.9 3.2 



0.(?) 



much 

tr. ;93. 1.5* 



>30 



23. 



11. 



2.1 



.03 



5.4 



2.9 



.19 



.034 



.12 



17. 
>30 
3.8 



>30 
1.6 



>30 



10. 
0. 



143. 



17 

50 

23 

29. 



155. 
180. 
395. 



305 



32. 



tr. 



tr. 



9. 10. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 

27 1906 S . Sanford (F) 

35. 18 1906, S. Sanford (F) 
24. 1905 E. C. Levy 



6.6 1906 E. B. Dole 

6. 140 H906 S. Sanford (F) 
3.5 1907 J. B. Weems 



7.5 
11. 



14. 



220 1906 S. Sanford (F) 
.. Froehling & 
Robinson 

13. 1906 S. Sanford (P) 



23 



338 



UXDERGROUXD WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 



Table » — Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from Columbia formations. 



Locality 


Owner 


"3 

c 
■- 


« 

■H 

' — * 




03 

2 

1 

O 
En 


u 

o 

*j 

'•*3 
03 

> 

a 

JO 

5 


CI 

O 
33 

33 


m 
<u 

E 

c 

a 

5 

a O 

a— ■ 
< 

So 

— 


ACCOM A C 


B. T. Melson ,. Hriiiprf 


26 
34 
50 
68 
14 
32 
32 
70 
80 
40 
34 










Accom ac 






















M. i:. Hal] 

I). J. Whealton 

\V. Ellinger 

X. V. P. & N. R. R 

i. T. Sharpley 

Elihu Tull 

\. V. P. & N. R. R 

J. R. Henderson 


drilled 

driven 

driven 

driven 

driven 

drilled . . 
















































Franklin Citv 


250. 








Greenbackville 
























14. 




Nandua 


A. T. L. Kusian 

Town 


drilled 


75 










New Church 






























M. L. Hurst 

S. T. Taylor 


driven 






driven 

driven 

dug 

driven 


36 
62 
12 

12 
3fi 






















X. Y. P. & N, R. R 

X. Y. P. & N. R. R 

W. E. Brittingham 

Gil] 


71 
112. 












6.8 




Caroline 

Bowling Green 

Bowling Green 












dug 












R. P. Vincent 

Dr. A. Webb 


dug 














dug 














dug 


20 














99 










Port Royal 


Arkins 

Mrs. Major 

H. I. Saunders 


dug. . 








Charles Citj 


dug , 


40 








driven 30 








CHES PER] n:i D 


Chesterfield Laundry 














Elizabeth Cits 

Hamilton 


Hampton Institute 














Hampton 


Hampton Institute 






524. 








Hampton 


Hampton Mfg. Co 

llinnpton Roads Ry. & Elect. Co... 
Olty 


dug 












dug 












Hampton 


dug 

dug 


22 

22 
13 

12 










Essex 














Thos. Brldsres 










GLOl CBS i i i: 

A. hill.- 

























ANALYTICAL WELL DATA FROM COLUMBIA FORMATIONS. 



339 



Table 



(Continued) — Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from Columbia 

formations. 



a 

c 

f-l 

1— 1 


a 

a 

03 

as 

c 

03 

cjO 
C 


' s 

; a 

D 

S 

3 


Calcium (Ca) 


bo 

! 8 

a 

'3 

03 


Szi 

a 

o 

GO 


§ 

a 

.5 

o 
P4 


a 

4-> 

3 


Carbonate radicle (COa) 
Bicarbonate radicle (HOOa) 
Sulphate radicle (SO4) 


CO 

: O 

13 

03 

8 


Chlorine (CI) 

Total hardness as CaCOa 


03 
+3 


Analyst 


tr. 
















0. 25. 
0. 130. 
0. 11. 

0. 180. 
0. 240. 


tr. 
tr. 
tr. 
much 
47. 




15. 

"5!5' 

630. 
210. 
320. 
740. 
60. 
14.6 
9. 
20. 
tr. 
6.5 
30. 

49. 

47. 

9.5 

8. 

16. 

1.7 

110. 

73. 
39. 
28. 
80. 


15. 

91. 

25. 
440. 
180. 

18. 
300. 

85. 

20. 



43. 
110. 

102. 
55. 


1906 
1906 
1906 
1906 
1906 
1907 
1907 
1906 
1893 
1906 
1906 

1906 
1906 

1906 

1906 
1906 
1906 
1899 


S. Sanford (P) 


tr 






mod. 

o.(?) 

much 
much 










S. Sanford (P) 


1.5(?) 










S. Sanford (P) 














S. Sanford (F) 


2. 










S. Sanford (F) 


10 












340. 
330. 


S. Sanford (F) 


3.5 






much 
little 










0. 


>30. 
tr. 




S. Sanford (F) 


• 8(?) 
little 














0. 


230. 


S. Sanford (P) 
















tr. 






little 
much 
6. 
little 
much 

113. 

much 
much 
little 
some 

8.6 
mod. 

little 
mod. 
much 
mod. 










0. 


34. 


tr. 
tr. 
10. 

>30. 
0. 

tr. 

>30. 
>30. 

tr. 
some 

10. 

15. 

tr. 

0. 

little 

tr. 




S. Sanford (P) 


1.5 














0. 45. 


S. Sanford (F) 


1 2 


.... 


.9 




63. 










17. 
42. 

180. 

83. 

100. 
110. 

62. 

17. 
180. 

17. 


Baldwin Locomotive Works 


5 










S. Sanford (F) 


1 
















S. Sanford (F) 


0. 










0. 


H. N. Parker (F) 

















S. Sanford (F) 


1 


.... 














58 
50 




S. Sanford (F) 


8. (ID 

0. 
















S. Sanford (F) 






little 
66. 








0. 


C. B. Dudley 


1 2 


.... 


.9 








Baldwin Locomotive Works 


tr. 










200 




1906 

1906 
1906 
1906 
1906 

1906 
1906 

1906 
1906 

1906 

1902 
1904! 
1904 
1906 

1906 
1906 

1906 


S. Sanford (F) 




















S. Sanford (F) 


tr. 














0. 
0. 


11. 
37. 
37. 


60. 
90. 
60. 
50. 
52. 
115. 

38. 
35. 


S. Sanford (F) 


.5 














S. Sanford (F) 


1.8 














S. Sanford (F) 


1.5 
















S. Sanford (F) 




.... 




little 
much 

little 
little 










0. ! 19. 






14. 
120(?) 

24. 
8. 


S. Sanford (F) 












>30. 

0. 
0. 




S. Sanford (F) 


0. 


:::: 












0. 15. 
0. 20. 


S. Sanford (P) 


tr. 










S. Sanford (P) 













H. Bentley Smith Co. 








188. 
some 


16.5 
tr. 










32. 
some 


24. 


113. 
85. 


38. 


W . S . Sweetser 


0. 














C. B. Dudley 
















H. Bentley Smith Co. 




























H. Bentley Smith Co. 


tr. 






much 












160. 

23. 
300. 


tr. 

tr. 
62. 

0. 




87. 

15. 
54. 

11. 


180. 

21. 

76. 

18. 


S. Sanford (F) 
S. Sanford (F) 


.5 
















1.5 






mod. 
0. 












S. Sanford (F) 
S. Sanford (F) 


tr. 






i 










12. 



340 



CTNDEEGBOUND WATEB RESOUECES OF COASTAL PLAIN PBOVINCE. 



Table 1 (Continued) — Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from Columbia 

formations. 



Locality 



Owner 



o 



DO 

"343 

13 + 



■7. — 



<;ui;i:\\ ii.i.i: 
Emporia Emporia Mfg. Co. 



Hanover 

Ellerson 

Hanover C. H. 



bored and 
driven . . . 



R. L. Acree dug. 

< lounty dug. 



Benrico . 

Ginter Park S. H. Hawes dug. 

Richmond Lewis Ginter L. & I. Co dug. 

Richmond Rosenecgk Brewing Co dug. 



[sle of Wight 

Moonlight Dr. Wells 



Tames city 
Williamsburg" H. Johnson 



King George 

King George County 

Passapatanzy 



dug. 
dug. 



dug. 
dug. 



K I N I . A.ND QUEES 
Cumnor C. 



C. Vaughan dug. 



22 



42 
25 



32 
27 
10 



10 



30 

20 



30 



62. .17 8.0 

iio! 4<l" 19." 



Mathews 

Mat hew C. 
M [DDLESES 

Ohurchview 



li. 



dug. 



dug. 



Norfolk 

Berklev Portsmouth, Berkeley & Suffolk 

Water Oo 

Berkley Portsmouth, Berkeley cV: SufYolk 

Water Co driven 

Buell" Pocomoke Guano Co driven 



10 



20_35 
86 



600. 



Porl Norfolk \ir Line Mfg. Co driven 170. 

Port Norfolk \ir Line Mfg. Co driven 38 

Porl Norfolk Portsmouth & Norfolk Tract. Co. driven 16-50 210. 

Port Norfolk Seaboard Air Line R. R driven 60 280. 

Port Norfolk Seaboard Air Line R. R driven old wells 275. b 

Porl Norfolk Seaboard Air Line R. R driven 60 218. 



Porl Norfolk Seaboard AJr Line R. R driven new wells 



Portsmouth United States 

Norfolk Imperial Co. 



driven 



::r, 



North \ m pton 

Cape Charles Heckle 

Oape Charles \. , > . 

Cape Charles n '^ . 

Cape Charles N . ^ . 

Cape Charles v , > . 



Kellogg driven 



236. 
1 ,294. 

195. 



& N. 

& N. 

A N 

.V N 



Cape Charles N. v. P. *v v 



B. B drilled 

R. R driven 

R. R driven 

R. R drilled 

R. R drilled 



90 

18 
12 
90 

07 



251 . 
226. 



301. 
53. 



7.7 



15. 

l.\ 
8. 

10. 

85. 

24. 



14. 

40. 
44. 
42. 

43. 

9.9 

34. 



20. 

17. 



21. 



2.9 
.34 
3. 

tr. 

5.8 



218. 



5.1 



fYatei 'nay come from Chesapeake (Miocene) sand. 
!•• taken after prolonged pumping. 



ANALYTICAL WELL DATA FROM COLUMBIA FORMATIONS. 



341 



Table 7 (Continued) — Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from Columbia 

formations. 



9 
& 

a 
o 


« 

CO 
03 

(=1 

03 

a 

03 

3 


3 
a 

3 
3. 

a 

3 

3 


D 

a 

3 

'3 

Is 
D 


a 

3 
'53 

03 

03 


'es 
g, 

a 

3 

-3 

o 

CO 


M 

a 

3 
'tc 

03 
03 
+a 

O 


a 

3 
!3 

3 


« 

o 

D 
^^ 

03 

-3 

03 
Fh 

S3 
+3 

03 

a 

o 

,Q 

03 
O 


Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 


Sulphate radicle (SO4) 


Nitrate radicle (NO3) 


O 

03 

d 


s 




M 
O 
O 

03 
O 

t/3 
03 

OQ 

OQ 
03 
C 

-a 

t-l 
03 




03 
03 
ft 


Analyst 




























1904 

1906 
1906 

1906 
1906 
1904 

1906 

1906 

1906 
1906 

1906 

1906 

1906 


H. Bentley Smith Co. 

S. Sanford (F) 
S. Sanford (F) 

Froehling & Robertson 

S. Sanford (F) 

H. Bentley Smith Co. 

S. Sanford (F) 

S. Sanford (F) 

S. Sanford (F) 
S. Sanford (F) 

S. Sanford (F) 

S. Sanford (F) 

S. Sanford (F) 


0.5 




little 
little 

5.4 

o.(?) 

5.4 

little 

much 

little 
little 

little 

mod. 

little 










0. 
0. 

1.4 
0. 


16. 
22. 

12. 


0. 
tr. 

tr. 
>30. 


31. 


6. 
31. 

7. 

8. 

31. 

11. 

46. 


21. 

41. 

18. 


tr. 












1.7 





4.6 


.9 


tr 




tr. 








.56 


13. 






2.(?) 










14. 

180. 

32. 
7.3 

23. 

40. 

24. 

25. 


tr. 

tr. 

0. 




0. 


























0. 
0. 

0. 


tr. 














14. 

25. 
50. 
30. 

17. 

15. 
78. 

24. 
28. 


8. 
32. 
75. 
23. 

35. 
35. 


tr. 












little 

mod. 

0. 

20. 
tr. 




tr. 












tr. 












0. 
12. 


.10 












tr. 














1906 


S. Sanford (F) 

Sparrows Point Boiler Com- 
pound Co. 

H. Bentley Smith Co. 

S. Sanford (F) 

Sparrows Point Boiler Com- 
pound Co. 

Froehling & Robertson 






74. 

27. 

little 

21. 

35. 


31. 
4.3 


50. 
7. 






292. 

28. 










64. 


18. 
little 
49. 

7.5 
4.8 
2.3 




1905 

56. iQftfi 


2.5(?) 










7.2 

6.3 

6. 

6.9 

8.3 

3.4 

42. 








54. 

78.. 
83. 
73. 

73. 

31. 

187. 




1906 






45. 
49. 

18. 

18. 






tr. 

tr. 

tr 


50. 
48. 
26. 

25. 

574. 

48. 
1.7 
3.4 

35. 

20. 

21. 








32. 
38. 

34. 

36. 






1906 

1906 

1906 

1906 

1 9nK 










Froehling & Robertson 


i 






3.2 tr 








8.1 

0. 
3.4 

14. 
much 
5.3 
little 


tr. 

.70 


Sparrows Point Boiler Com- 
pound Co. 
Froehling & Robertson 

York Mfg. Co. 


1.3 ........ 


11,410. 


310. 












1.2 .... .9 


50. 

31. 
much 

6.5 
much 


67. 

55. 
some 
2.2 
little 










350. 
124. 






3.6 


....27. 














Baldwin Locomotive Works 
C. B. Dudley 

Baldwin Locomotive Works 
C. B. Dudley 














1KQQ 














31. .... 
1899 


| 








much 




1 1 









342 



IXDERGROUXD WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLA1X PROVINCE. 



Table 7 (Continued) — Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from Columbia 

formations. 



Locality 



Owner 



NOBTHAMPTON — Cont. 

Eastvffle N. Y. P. & N. R. R 

EastvMe N. 1*. P. <* N. R. R 

Eastville County 

Exmore N. Y. P. & N. R. R 

Exmore N. Y. P. & N. R. R driven 

Exmore N. Y. P. & N. R. R driven 

Exmore N. Y. P. & N. R. R driven 



driven 



NOBTHUMBEBLAND 

Heatsville 



J . E . Nelms 



dug. 



Piuncess Anne 

W aterway Norfolk 

Virginia Beach Walker 

Waterway Norfolk 



Pbincb Gbobge 

Claremont 

Garysville 11. 



County Waterworks driven 

driven 

County Waterworks driven 



C. Browning dU{ 



Si RBI 

Bacon's Castle M. 

Dendron E. 

Homewood W 



Bell dug... 

Jones driven 

F. Maddera ;dug... 



Si sskx 

Wakefield Baine Peanut Co dug... 

Wakefield E. W. Brittle driven 

Wakefield S. Parr dug... 

Waverly Waverly Peanut Co 'dug... 

Waverly J. D. Gray driven 

Westmobeland 

BJnsale Hotel |dug... 

Leedstown Jas. Baxter dug... 

Oak Grove A. Flanmer dug... 

Potomac -Mills John Barrack dug... 



5 



So 

•o + 

- _ 

09 



10 

40 

12 

18 

12(?) 

30 



45 



190. 



144. 



87.3 



8.5 



22. 
8.5 
33. 



30 
17 



115. 51. 



62. 
4.8 

'"8.'2* 



25 



28 
25 
30 



12 
20 
16 
16 
35 



389. 


180. 


10. 








65. 


4.4 


10. 














20 
63 

27 



ANALYTICAL WELL DATA FROM COLUMBIA FORMATIONS. 



343 



Table 7 (Continued) — Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from Columbia 

formations. 



c 

h- 1 


'a 

o 
cc 
c 
S 
03 
bsi 

03 
3 


s 

s 

c 

5 
3 


Calcium (Oa) 


3 

to 

SO 
1 


"oS 

5 


VI 

a 

.2 


3 

3 

■ +3 


CO 

o 
o 

■a 

C3 

S3 

S3 

a 

c 


CD 

o 

a 

-3 

c3 

<o 

C3 

a 
c 

.a 

u 

5 


Sulphate radicle (SO*) 


6 

"3 

c3 

9 

s 8 


O 

a 

3 

S 
o 


Total hardness as CaC03 


ft 


Analyst 


1 2 




.9 


17. 

some 

little 

some 

3.1 

6. 

4.8 


54. 
much 










77. 8.5 




1.7 
35. 
40. 
43. 
14. 

1.7 
13. 

30. 

8. 
74. 
17. 

11. 

11. 

95(?) 

5. 
10. 

93. 
22. 
22. 
20. 
12. 

35. 
20. 
31. 
26. 






Baldwin Locomotive Works 


little 












much 
55. 


67. 
25. 


1899 
1906 
1899 


C. B. Dudley 


0. 














13. 


S. Sanford (F) 


much 






much 
1.7 

52. 
3. 












much 
3.8 

17. 
7.8 


O. B. Dudley 




















1.2 




.9 






.... 








Baldwin Locomotive Works 














34. 

70. 

128. 
50. 
42. 

97. 
55. 

70. 
41. 

38. 

55. 

48. 

11. 

37. 

42. 
13. 


1906 

1907 
1906 
1906 

1906 
1906 

1906 
1906 
1906 

1904 
1906 
1906 
1904 
1906 

1906 
1906 
1906 


Baldwin Locomotive Works 












' 


0. 


30. 




S. Sanford (F) 




















.75 


Booth, Garrett & Blair 


tr 






little 
little 

much 












26. 
8. 

110.? 
100. 

23. 
12. 
23. 

81. 
14. 

16. 

35. 
62. 
21. 
31. 


>30. 
>30. 


S. Sanford (F) 


tr. 
















S. Sanford (F) 


0. 










0. 





S. Sanford (F) 


4.5(?) 














>30. 

0. 
0. 

0. 

11. 

0. 

0. 




S. Sanford (F) 


tr. 






mod. 
o.(?) 










0. 


S. Sanford (F) 
















S. Sanford (F) 


.5 






little 

21. 
little 
0.(?) 
10. 

little 






.... 






S. Sanford (F) 
















24. 


H. Bentley Smith Co. 














S. Sanford (F) 


tr. 




2.2 


6.1 


.... 




10. 
0. 

0. 
0. 
0. 


S. Sanford (F) 

H. Bentley Smith Co 






2.1| 

o- ! 


tr. 








S. Sanford (F) 

S. Sanford (F) 
S. Sanford (F) 
S. Sanford (F) 
S. Sanford (F) 
















tr. 






much 
much 
little 










>30. ; : 

much ! 


tr. 














tr. 
































' 



3 . I 



IXIM.KKROUXD WATEB KKSOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 8 Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from Chesapeake formations. 



Locality 



Owner 



z. 



Ari OMAC 

Accomac" B. T. Gunter drilled 

Accomac 8 L. L. Tiffany drilled 

Cashville a Susan A. Tiffany drilled 

Franklin City- 1 drilled 

Harborton a Allen & Lennau drilled 

Pungoteagne S. W. Ames drilled 



Chablbs Cits 

Malvern HilP G. M. 

Wilcox Wharf 11 T. W. 



Gill bored 70. 

Hubbard dug 43. 



Essex 

Bowler's Wharf Donaldson & Schultz_ drilled 

Bowler'e Wharf Claybrooke & McNeal Packing Co drilled 165. 

Center Cross C. F. Kriete drilled 190. 

Tappahannock B. B. Brockenbrough drilled '272. 

Tappahannock R- T. Cauthorn drilled 275. 

Ware's Wharf W. L. Ware drilled 170. 

Gl.Of' 0STBB 

Allmondsville W. W. Allmond drHled 270. 

Preeport E. C. Farinholt drilled 330. 

Freeport R. H. Farinholt drilled 338. 

Gloucester C. H Town dug 30. 



Bbneico 
Elko .. 



E, J. Purman driven 35 



of Wight 

Day'a Point J. A. Morgart drilled 383. 

Shoalbay Dr. Win. D. Turner drilled 226. 

smithii id Smithfleld Mineral Water Co drilled 3T0. 

Zuni Town drilled 161. 

Zunl drilled 



James Cits 

Croaker Wilbur H. Davis drilled 200. 

Jamestown 0. P. Ayers drilled 300. 

Jamestown Association for the Preservation of 

Virginia Antiquities drilled 267. 

Williamsburg Marshall Estate drilled 285. 

Williamsburg Galba Vaiden drilled 176 

Williamsburg Mrs. R. M. Smith drilled .... 

Williamsburg Mrs. R. M. Smith drilled .... 

Williamsburg Eastern State Hospital drilled 286. 



King Geo 

Kin 



! 'i'\ ard Hunter 



King William 

Wesl Poinl Denmead Bros. .. 

Wesl Poinl Southern Railway 



dug 15. 



drilled 105. 
drilled 165. 



K i \'. \ m> Ql BEN 

lln Kerry Win. Blake - drilled 161 



k S Tl R 

Irvii 



W. \ Da l'.ro drilled 330. 



'M.i\ i lumbla beds. 

'■Source nf main supply uncertain. 

c Also ammonium radicle (NHO, .89; borate radicle B Oi . trace. 

■orate radicle - B«Ot), 8.5 
'•Ammonium radicle KHi), 9.7; borate radicle (B2O 



«-. 




3 




-u 




cj 




s 

















+3 




S3 








O 




> 




•O 


^ 


a 


O 








CO 










a 

c3 


03 


bD 




t-i 




O 


CO 



30 

a " 

-: 



2. 
tr. 

tr. 



250 little 

tr. 

250 45 1 



333. 3.1 34. 



494. 48. 



l:M. ... 
786. 15 
566. 



.... 12. 
18. 
94 10.5 



521. 



16.2 



21. 



553. 



28. 



!>■•; 



tr. 
tr. 
tr. 



tr. 



tr. 



tr. 



.19 
.81 
.22 

28 



523 21. 

662. 10 

185 1.1 



tr. 



tr. 
tr. 



3.0 
tr. 



tr. 

tr. 



.11 



tr. 

tr. 



ANALYTICAL WELL DATA FROM CHESAPEAKE FORMATIONS. 



345 



Table 8 (Continued)- 



-Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from 
Chesapeake formations. 







W 




i 


'o3 


g. 


'o3 




O 


rt 


£ 


to 

cd 




a 


w 




03 


a 

3- 




a 


bo 


rt 


s 


03 


"o3 


CJ) 

03 


T3 


S 


Q 


3 


CO 



o 
o 



D 



•~\ 
















CO 
















o 

W 


o 


O 










o 
o 

03 

o 


o 


co 


~ 


o 










o 


N - / 


o 


fc 








03 


^ 




CJ 


V 










03 


















o 


T3 


<B 








DO 




TJ 


e3 


CJ 






^ 


CD 


CD 


03 




•B 


w 




o 


"8 


03 




03 
+3 


03 




hH 


^ 


03 


r! 


ffl 


rf 




CD 




CD 


.CJ 


o 

s 


03 



S3 
P. 

o 
si 


5 

03 
+3 


a 

a 

o 

t-l 


Iodine 


a 
o 

s 


O 


ffl 


CO 


Ph 


K 


PA 


o 


Eh 



Analyst 



much 

much 

much 

much some 

isome 

I 25. 11. 32. 



tr. 
2.5 



mod. 

mod. 

0. 



14. 



122. 



little 



little 
tr. 
tr. 
much 



much 



.53;. 008 

.641 tr. 

1.2 i tr. 



2.6 
3.9 
7. 
little 
2.76 



1.1 169. 
1.4 1193. 

2.6 188. 



0. 
0. 
much 
0. 
0. 



140. 
124. 
170. 

'go.' 

218. 



tr. 



0. 

0. 

0. 

12. 



115. 
313. 



200. 
150. 
205. 
410. 



tr. 

0. 

0. 

little 

"i.6 



0. 

7.7 



>25. 
tr. 



3.6 



tr. 230. 



>30. 

35. 

>30. 



22. 402. 10. 

12. 680. tr. 

12. 670. tr. 

0. 75. >30. 



0. 190. little 



12. 

11. 

11. 

14.6 

38. 

12. 



27. 
4.3 



8.6 
4.2 



91. 

87. 
65. 



56. 



35. 



5.8 

2. 

3. 



106. 

25. 

30. 
! 147. 



56. 
50. 
65. 
7. 
25. 
19. 



6.2 
11. 
6.1 



4.1 140. 



.008 
tr.c; 



2.9 tr. 130. 11. tr. 



7.2 
12. 
53. 
much 



2.7 1185. 16. 
3.7 131. ... 
2.2 107. ... 



4.3 191. 17. 



mod. 





4.8 47. 213.14. 

tr 



204. ... 

518 

175. 133 

30. 370 

185. 



6.1 

14. 
179. 
198. 



350. 
310. 

280. 



11. 

1.6 

9. 
tr. 

12.5 



5.8 



360. 



188. 



tr. 

10. 
21. 



.85 
.17 
,13 d 



.75 
tr. 



.2 



mod. 
10. 



0. 36.j>30. 



0. 260. 
....306. 



.36 
.73 
.012 



.0004 

.77 | 
.012 



25. 

17. 
27. 

5. 

4. 



14. 



2.7 10. 
135. 3.8 



57. 
103. 
149. 
i 14. 

15. 
107. 



3.8 



480. 



170. 58 



>30 3. 

307. .6 tr.;.18 .04 6.7 



230. tr. 



21. 



S. 
S. 

s. 
c. 

is. 

|1906 R. 



jl906 
|1906 
1906 
1893 



1906 
1906 



Sanford (F) 
Sanford (F) 
Sanford (F) 
B. Dudley 
Sanford (F) 
B. Dole 



S. Sanford (F) 
R. B. Dole 



1906 S. Sanford (F) 

(1906 S. Sanford (F) 

]1906 S. Sanford (F) 

11906 S. Sanford (F) 

S. Sanford (F) 

1906 S. Sanford (F) 



11906 R. B. Dole (F) 

3.2 11906, S. Sanford (F) 

8. 11906 S. Sanford (F) 

100. '1906 S. Sanford (F) 



4.2 110. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 



1903 Proehling & Robertson 
1907 Froehling & Robertson 
1907.Froeb.ling- & Robertson 
1907jS. Sanford (F) 
19091 N. S. Hill 



1906 S. Sanford (F) 

1906j S. Sanford (F) 

.... VT. H. Taylor 

Keystone Chemical Co. 

I Henry Froehling 

.... S. Sanford (F) 
I W. H. Taylor 



1906 



1906 



S. Sanford (F) 



S. Sanford (F) 
Henry Froehling 



14. 



1906! (F.) 



little 



0. 480. >30 18. 



10. 



1906 S. Sanford (F) 



346 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN" PROVINCE. 



Table 8 (Continued)— Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from 

( 'hesapeake formations. 



Locality 



Owner 




_\1 [DDLESEX 

Urbanna G. V. Wagenen drilled 232 

Dew D. M. Nelson drilled 297 



Na.\si;.mond 
Everetts . . 



T. J. Saunders drilled 54. 



Norfolk 

Norfolk 



Pocomoke Guano Co drilled 86. 



Northampton 

Bone Island drilled 169. 

Oyster W. F. Travis drilled 185. 

Sandy Island Whar ton Fisheries Co drilled 249. 

Sandy Island Wharton Fisheries Co drilled 249. 

North u >i bbrla m> 

Coans Thomas Fallin drilled 260. 

Harding s Wharton Fisheries Co drilled .... 

Lodge Wharton Fisheries Co drilled 255. 



Richmond 

Warsaw E. H. 

Warsaw G. M. 



Garland drilled 188. 

Sydnor drilled 180. 



Southampton 

Boykins Baptist Chureh drilled 127. 

Boykins E. H. Grizzard drilled 85. 

Boykins W. A. Powell drilled L10. 

Boykins Town drilled 90. 

<<>iirtland _ R. T. Whitfield drilled 165. 

Railroad drilled 



Si i:i;y 

Homewood W. P. 

Homewood w. I'. 



(day drilled 250. 

Gray drilled:;!:.. 



Westmoreland 

Beales Whari Beales & Biddle drilled i7.">. 

Kinsale Q. P. Bailey drilled 238. 

Kin-ale Dameron & Courtney drilled 275. 

Lynch'fi Point J. R. Dos Passos drilled 90. 

Mount Holly s. J. Hopkins drilled 135. 

Sandy Point J. R. DosPassos drilled 250. 

Warwk k 

Curtis Point Philip Lederhos drilled 363. 

Blulberry Island P. H. Wrighl hilh.l :;7:i. 

.Mulberry Island p. ii. Wright drill< d 373. 















tr. 


600. 














1.5 






tr. 


tr. 
little 

1.5 
.13 

tr. 








918. 












462. 







220. 













1. 














tr 








tr 








tr. 








tr. 



277. 20. 
214. 23. 



2.'.. 
27. 



.9 
.16 











tr. 






37. 




.1 










tr. 











































910. 
1,158. 



1>. 
13. 



.12 



tr. 
tr. 



"Ammonium radicle fNH<) 9.7; borate radicle (B2O7) trace. 
'■Sodium and potassium. 



ANALYTICAL WELL DATA FROM CHESAPEAKE FORMATIONS. 



34? 



Table 8 (Continued) — Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from 

Chesapeake formations. 





?—* 




'So 








< 


a 


^ 


3 




M 


1 


5 
B 

1 

B 

< 


02 
CI 

03 
SB 


o 

a 

.5 


g 
3 

a> 

c 


03 

s 

3 


S 

.s 

*s 

02 

03 

o 

Pn 


3 
s 

.2 i 


a 

a 


o 


cm 

03 


73 

O 


3 






/™s 








-* 








O 








Ph 


^~, 






y-' 


© 






2j 


ft 






o 
















"O 








03 










o 


Ph 






■a 


pq 




a> 


03 


s — ' 


^-^ 




?H 




i—i 






9 




fl 


a> 


fl 




Pi 


+3 




a> 


CQ 


03 


H 


c 


o 




o 


-a 

o 


Ph 


ft 


pq 



o 



Analyst 



little 16. 

little 15. 



450. tr. 
360. >30. 



220. 



tr. 



Ti. 31. 



50. 



292. 



much 
mod. 
some 



5. 200. 0. 
0. 210. i>30. 



some some some 



little 



some — 
7.2 1. 



0. 260. 
24. 396. 



mod. 
little 



some 
little 
little 
little 



0. 250. >30. 
0. 210. 0. 



,170. 
1170. 
150. 
150. 



0. 
6.8 



little 
little 
little 
some 
some 
little 



7.2 
4.2 



2.2 295 b 



1.2 

1.2 



350 b 
354.|15. 



15. 425. 
23. '468. 



0. 185. 
0. 210. 
0. !220. 
0. 1320. 
0. 180. 
. . . . '250. 



>30. 
>30. 

tr. 

tr. 



tr. 



22. 448. 

454. 

6. 400. 



>30. 
26. 



>30. 

>30. 

>30. 

much 

>23. 

>30. 



32. 
44. 
39. 



tr. 



9.5 
12. 



78. 



0. 240. >30 610. 



19. 
420. 

427. 



6.7 
6.6 

4. 



6. 

5.2 

7. 

5.3 
19. 
18. 



35. 
152. 



6. 

5.3 

5.3 

7. 
5. 
5.7 



244. 
273. 
250. 



5.6 



81. 



140. 
70. 
95. 



40. 



42. 



32. 
34. 



62. 

42. 

21.(?) 

50. 

16. 

25. 



7.3 



1906 
1906 



1906 



1905 



1907 
1906 
1906 
1901 



1906 
1907 



Sanford (F) 
Sanford (F) 



S. Sanford (F) 



Sparrows Point Boiler Compound 
Co. 

S. Sanford (F) 

S. Sanford (F) 

S. Sanford (F) 

C. B. Dudley 



S. Sanford (F) 

R. B. Dole 

G. AY. Lehmann 



1906 S. Sanford (F) 
1906 S. Sanford CF) 



1907 S. Sanford (F) 
1907 S. Sanford (F) 
1907 S. Sanford (F) 
1907 S. Sanford (F) 
1909 N. S. Hill 
1909! N. S. Hill 



1906 S. Sanford (F) 
R. B. Dole 



12. 
23. 



50. 
18. 
13. 



11. 



1906 S. Sanford (F) 
1900 S. Sanford (F) 
1906! S. Sanford (F) 



1900 
1906 
1906 



S. Sanford (F) 
S. Sanford (F) 
S. Sanford (F) 



1902! R. B. Dole 
1905 W. H. Taylor 
1906! S. Sanford (F) 






tJNDERGROUXD WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIX PROVINCE. 



Table 9 — Analyses mid field assays of well water from Pamunkey formations. 



Locality 



Owner 






c - 



( lABOLINE 

Port Royal 



Town _ drilled 235 



Chables ClU 
Roxbury — 
Westover ... 



Thos. Walker drilled 

\V. S. Ramsay drilled 



Essex 

Tappahannock 
Tappahannock 

Tappahannock 



1 ;i -'" CESTEB „ _ m _ ,_ . 

Sassafras B. F. Weaver dried 

Achilles Union Church drilled 

James Cm 

Lee Hall Duke & Smith dried 

Lee Hall - Duke & Smith drilled 

Norge ....'.'.'.'. Chesapeake <fc Ohio Ry drilled 



King Ueor< i 

Matbias Point C. H. Pemberton 

Port Conway ?• J- Turner 

!»,, rt Conway 
Port Conway 



drilled 

drilled 

L H. Low hilled 

R. V. Turner drilled 



Port Conway Dr - Jones _ drilled 

Wilsmont Landing Vulcan Fire Brick Co drilled 



Kin.. Wii.i.iam 
Aylett 



f. B. Moore 



Elsing Greea '^r Gregory 

\\,,t Pninf A est Point \\ 



West Poinl 



drilled 

drilled 

aterworks drilled 



l.w 
[rvini 



Carter- Creek Fish r.uano Co. 



NOBTHUMBBBLAND 

Bar ding 



Rl( II MOND 

Naylore Wharl 



! . 



A. 
A. 



Uhitaker .. 

Waddington 



St a f i 

,,k-' Kiehinond, FrederickshurL' and 

Potomac B. u. Co 



250 
135 



F. S. McDaniel drilled 280 

R. T. Cauthom drilled .... 

Donaldson & Sehultz drilled 250 



& B. 8. Mem ley drilled 

Jetl 



Westmoiiei ixd 

Colonial Beach M. A. 

< r, innial Beach i>. W. 

Colonial Beach [ce Worka drilled 

Erica ■'• T. Barrett drilled 

Erica Wm. Detrick drilled 

WllkeraoD W. 8. Wllkerson drilled 



330 
500 



129 

395 
U9 



286 
232 

305 
250 
305 
300C?) 



1!)0 
300 
335 



Kino and Queen 

King and Queen County . drilled 216 

Walkerton Ivan Clark drilled 235 



drilled 580 



Ni:\\ Ki;\ i , 

Boulevard « v m. Webber drilled 260 

Providence Forge E. R. Richardson drilled 

E. B. Towsend 



hilled 250 
hilled ... 
[rilled 820 



dug 









494. 48. 



9.9 40. 



303. 



17. 



tr. 
tr. 



tr. 



5.5 



tr. 
tr. 



tr. 
tr. 



tr. 



1. 

tr. 



tr. 



80. 


23. 




.08 
tr. 




tr. 


162 




.13 
















tr. 
























tr. 








tr. 








tr. 








tr. 



ANALYTICAL WELL DATA FR01E PAMUXKEY FORMATIONS. 



349 



Table 9 (Continued) — Analyses and field assays of well water from Pamiinkey 

formations. 



a 

d 

a 

< 


03 
DB 

o> 

03 

bo 

a 

S3 


'a 

O 

3 

"3 

o 


m 

a 

3 

'•13 

c 
o 

+a 
X! 


bio 

a 

3 

d 

bo 
03 

3 


a 

3 

-5 
c 
a: 


8 

3 

'55 

+a 

O 


3 
g 

3 


Carbonate radicle (OOs) 


1? 

O 
O 
W 



S3 

a 




Sulphate radicle (SO-i) 


O 
03 

l 

- 


3 
3 









VI 
03 

00 

03 

- 
— 

03 

Is 
| 


*-> 


Analyst 






little 

0.(?) 
little 












0. 

0. 
0. 

8.4 


180. 

195. 
405. 

470. 


>30. 

>30. 
>30. 

>30. 

34. 

>30. 

54. 
135. 

>30. 

>30. 

39. 

>30. 
>30. 
>30. 
>30. 
>30. 
>30. 

18. 
>30. 
>30. 

>30. 
>30. 

>30. 

1.6 
>30. 
>30. 

.3 




6. 

2.5 

54.? 

7.5 
9. 

8^6 

220. 
1,500. 

190. 
280. 
176. 

12.5 
5. 


5. 1906 
14. 1906 


S. Sanford (F) 
















S. Sanford (F) 

















31. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 






little 












11. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 
















25. 1904 G. H. Lehmann 
















0. 

>10. 
0. 

0. 

0. 

180. 

0. 
0. 
0. 
0. 
0. 
0. 

22. 
0. 
0. 

0. 
13. 

20. 

0. 

0. 

10.? 

24. 

15. 

8. 
15. 

0. 

0. 

20. 

18. 

0. 


210. 

645. 
800. 

440. 
470. 

250. 
140. 
190. 
240. 
190. 
270. 

245. 
360. 
480. 

220. 
280. 

500. 

29. 
200. 
300. 

396. 

390. 

330. 
270. 

354. 
340. 
395. 
380. 

25. 


56. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 






little 
mod. 

0.(?) 
0.(?) 
11. 

o.(?) 

little 












18. 1906 
67. 1906 


S. Sanford (F) 
















S. Sanford (F) 
















7.3 
12. 


1906 
1906 


S. Sanford (F) 
















S. Sanford (F) 








3.1 


252. 






1910 Froehling & Robertson 










7. 1906 
1. il906 


S. Sanford (F) 
















S. Sanford (F) 


















1906 


S. Sanford (F) 






little 
little 
little 

3.2 
little 
o.(?) 












0. 
4.4 


>10. 
5. 
5. 

1.0 
>10. 
17.5 

7.5 
3. 

13. 

6.5 
4. 

3.8 

5.5 

7.6 

11. 
10. 

>10. 
5. 
9. 

9. 




1906 S. Sanford (F) 

















2. 1906 
.... 1906 

.... 1906 


S. Sanford (F) 
















S. Sanford (F) 






.... 


.4 


105. 


8.8 




R. B. Dole 






14. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 
















2. 1906 

41. 1906 
7.31906 

1. 1906 

.... 1906 
24. 1906 
10. ilPOfi 


S. Sanford (F) 




■ 












S. Sanford (F) 






o.(?) 
o.(?) 

2.1 
little 
little 

7.2 

tr. 

little 
little 

5. 
little 












S. Sanford (F) 
















S. Sanford (F) 


.6 




.... 


A 


9.2 






R. B. Dole 








S. Sanford (F) 
















S. Sanford (F) 








1.8 








12. 


1907 
1906 
iqnfi 


R. B. Dole 












S. Sanford (F) 

















>30. 
>30. 

20. 
>30. 
>30. 
>30. 

>30. 


.... 


X Sanford (F) 
















16. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 








3.6 


127. 






.... 1906 TVF a. Roberts 










13. 1906 
11. 1906 
11. 1 


S Sanford (F) 

















S Sanford (F) 






little 
little 












S Sanford (F) 
















5.6 


1906 


S. Sanford (F) 



350 



UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



T U5LE l (| - -A nalyses and field assays ( F) of well water from Upper Cretaceous 

formations. 



Locality 



Owner 



Elizabeth City 

Fort Monroe Hotel Chamberlain . 

Fort Monroe Hotel Chamberlain. 

Fort Monroe _ Hotel Chamberlain. 

Fort Monroe _ Hotel Chamberlain. 



GLOl I HSTBE 

Achilles B. A. Rowe 

Gloucester Point County and Chesapeake Steamship Co. 

Roanes *•• W. \\ "ithers 

Severn L M. Shakelford 



King William 

Manquin E. B. Chapman 

Manquin Miss Cora Skidmore. 

Lancastbb 

Ocran _ - 



a 
>> 



drilled 
drilled 
drilled 
drilled 



drilled 
drilled 
drilled 
drilled 



drilled 
drilled 



Middlesex 
Urbanna 



N k.NSBMOND 

SuiYolk Norfolk & Portsmouth Traction Co., 



Norfolk 

Lamberts Point N 



Lamberts Point \, 

Lamberts Poin t \ 

Lamberts Point N, 



& w. R. R. 
& W. R. R. 

& \V. R. R. 



I.aniberts Point 


N. 


& w. 

& w. 
& w 


R R 




Lamberts Point 


It R. 




Lamberts Point 


R R 


drilled 


NOBTE DMBBBLAND 

















drilled 

drilled 
drilled 



E 



945. 
945. 
945. 
945. 



600. 
694. 
716V 2 
610. 



237. 
270. 



drilled 660. 



I. \Y. Hurley drilled 650. 



drilled 803. (?) 



& \Y. R. R drilled 616. 



616. 
616. 
616. 

616. 

616. 
616. 



690? 



9,131. 
9,248. 
8,846. 



3,417. 
5,008. 



232. 



616. 



3 



47. 



x 



20. 
14. 



20. 
39. 



33. 
tr. 



56. 



596. 
1,093. 


20. 


10. 
16. 







11. 










1,067. 

86. 
1,128. 

214. 


80. 


8.56 

2.4 

6. 



" Sodium and potassium. 



ANALYTICAL WELL DATA FROM UPPER CRETACEOUS FORMATIONS. 



351 



Table 10 — (Continued)- 



Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from Upper 
Cretaceous formations. 



O 



be 



16. 



16. 



23 ! 97. 



mod. 



2.5 i much 

1. ....!. ...ilittle 
1. ........ 23. 

4.9 .... ....'46. 



1. 
tr. 



tr. 

tr. 
tr. 



1.4 

little 



little 



71. 

44. 







M 


^, 








Hi 


S 


>*_• 


3 


a 


OJ 


o 


OS 


E 


O 




PM 


s 



D 



03 
P. 

s. 



O 





CO 






o 






o 






03 






O 






m 






c3 






go 






CO 






0> 




6 


S-l 

03 




c 


A 










(H 


ph 




c 


03 


cd 






+i 


fl 


C 


03 


o 


Eh 


P 



Analyst 



3,339. 
3.268. 



87. 



14. 
26. 



1,188. a 
1,826. a 



74. 



tr. 



little much s'm e. 



328. 



5.(?) 

6. 

21. 

0. 



6.7 
0. 



much 



433. 



251. 
265. 



740.; 180. 



tr. 



4,929. 1906 Penniman & Brown 

4,978 1906 W. H. Taylor 

1 133. 1896 Booth, Garrett & Blair 

4,530. 70. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 



840. 160 1,400. 

730. 38. | J 410. 

544.1 155. ! tr. 1,630. 



57. 
21. 



628. 



216. 



.7 2,500. 



188. 13. I 0. 1.1 

210. >30. >10. 



1906 S. Sanford (F) 
11906 S. Sanford (F) 
1906 R. B. Dole 
1906 R. B. Dole 



11906 R. B. Dole 

1906' S. Sanford (F) 



2.9 1.7 <214. 



0.91 

2.3 
2.6 



1.2 
1.9 



5.2 

4.8 

.5 , little 



1.37 



3.9 

6.3 

5.1 



1.7 415. 



2.4 

2.7 



459. 
434. 



21. 



2.2 340. 



4.7 
3.3 



16.5 
437. 



11. 



14. 

:280. 
245. 



some 
315. >30. 

.... 9.8 



9. 

370. 



10. 

312. 



1601. 

617. 
560. 



43. 

43. 
43. 
41. 

45. 

20. 
45. 



some 1907 G. H. Seyms 



0. 1906' S. Sanford (F) 



0. 0. 



23. 



351. 

291. 
293. 
290. 

300. 

23. 
290. 



6. 



13. 1904 First Scientific Station for 
the Art of Brewing 



Shepard Laboratory 

N. & W. Railway 
Dearborn Laboratories 
S. Sanford (F) 





1891 

1906 
1907 
1906 







1909 
1909 



67. 



N. & W. Railway 

N. & W. Railway 
N. & W. Railway 



G. H. Lehmann 



:;o<? 



[JNDEEGBOUND WATER RESOURCES OF COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



Table 11 — Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from Potomac formations. 



Locality 




Alexandria Belle Pre Bottle Co 

Alexandria Mutual Ice Co 

Alexandria Robert Portner Brewing Co. 

Alexandria Robert Portner Brewing Co. 

Alexandria Robert Portner Brewing Co. 



drilled 
drilled 
drilled 

drilled 
drilled 



I'aiimax 
Fort Hunt United States drilled 

Gloucester 
Roanes Joseph Bryan 



King George 
Sealston j } m Curtis drilled 

Kim. William 
Palls j. h. Montague drilled 

Mathews 
Mathews C. H 



Prince George 
City Point Misses Eppes 



County drilled 

drilled 



Princess Anm: 
Waterway Norfolk City Waterworks 



drilled 1 



Southampton 
Sebrell Tidewater Railway drilled 



SrOTTSYI.VANIA 

Fredericksburg ]•; . 



D. Cole drilled 





86. 

110. 
176. 
170. 


14. 


33. 


155. 
401. 
431. 


38. 
21. 


400? 
431. 


205. 




27. 


215. 




342. 






S50.(?) 






250. 








399. 








817. 








111. 


179. 




23. 


,100. (?) 








344. 


295. 


9.9 


78. 


120. 


43. 


4.3 


12. 



■Sodium and potassium. 

b Oxide and carbonate of iron 6.8 



ANALYTICAL WELL DATA FROM POTOMAC FORMATIONS. 



353 



Table 11 (Continued) — Analyses and field assays (F) of well water from Potomac 

formations. 



so 

















/~s 




ba 




< 


a 


«"•» 


a 




\— ' 


^ 


03 






a 


X 


O 


a 


ft 




03 








S 

3 


be 


(3 


Iron 


a 

03 




Mag 



« 



£ 


° 


-1-3 


3 


a 


c3 

C 


t» 


d 


C 


03 


•p 


.0 



o 



,_ 












M 












o 








t: 




D 








c 




a 








o 




*■ 


o 


X~v 




D 




o 


02 


o 














03 
03 




o 




fe 






-a 


<B 












a 
-9 




^ 


DQ 

to 






03 


-a 


o 


-a 




C3 








h 




a 


<S 


u 




05 




o 

■~ 
03 


c3 

a 

"5 


9 

c3 


a 
o 


o 


o 

-^> 

03 


M 


CO 


& 


O 


En 


Q 



Analyst 



1.4 
4.6 



i. 



1. 

tr. 



2.5 



2.1 
( b ) 



tr. 
3. 
A 

tr. 



4.1 2.6 10. 

6.5 3.9 12. 

tr. 1.4 49. 

7.1 .0 .:.... 



8.6 19. 



32. 






mod. 
mod. 
tr. 

much 
52. 3.2 16. » 
little 

.79 .26 82. 

.5 2.9 3.3 



11. 
0. 



30. 11. 0. 



6.9 1910 Chase Palmer 



51. 6.4 1. 13 1910 Chase Palmer 

39. 36 32 1899 J. D. Hird 

17. 0. 19.5 200. 1903 First Scientific Station for 

the Art of Brewing 

105. 3. tr. 47 1910 Chase Palmer 

130. >30 44 S. Sanford (F) 



5.4 W. Mew 

060. 100. ......1,090. 33. 1906 S. Sanford (F) 

120. +r 1906 S. Sanford (F) 

175. >30 5. 7.5 .... S. Sanford (F) 



0. 

0. 673. tr. ... 

0. 155. 5.3 6 

5. 610. 110. ... 

84 25. ... 

10 3.5 ... 



167. 

16. 



1906 R. B. Dole (F) 
1906 R. B. Dole (F) 



1,030. ! 7.5 1906 S. Sanford (F) 



10.6 



1901 



J. >s . Barney 



24 



INDEX 



Accomac County. 117-133. 

General description. 117. 
Local supplies, 119. 
Chincoteague, 121. 

delusions, 133. 
Franklin Citv and Greenbackville, 

120. 
New Church, 119. 
Wells on islands in C hesapeake Bay. 

131. 
Wells on the bay side at Saxis, 
Belinda, Marsh Market, and 
Grotons, 122. 
Wells on the bay side farther south, 

123. 
Wells on the ocean side south of 
Chincoteague Bay, 131. 
Underground waters, 117. 

Distribution and quality, 117. 
Springs, 118. 
Wells, 118. 
Acknowledgments, 1. 
Albemarle Paper Co., 85. 
Alexandria, 137. 
Alexandria County, 133-141. 
General description, 133. 
Local supplies, 137. 
Alexandria, 137. 
Conclusions, 141. 
Other localities, 139. 
Underground waters, 134. 
Erup Mineral Spring, 135. 
Hume, 134. 

Occurrence and quality, 134. 
Public supplies, 137. 
Springs, 134. 
Analyses of waters from wells in crystal- 
line rocks near Richmond, 94. 
Aquia formation, 18. 
Areal extent of pollution, 43. 
Artesian conditions. 51. 
Artesian sands, 55. 
Artesian springs, 46. 
Artesian supplies, conservation of. 59. 
Artesian waters, 51. 

quality of, 54. 
Artesian wells, fluctuation of level in, 

54. 
Back Biver. 1 <»•_>. 
Blackwater River, flowing well- along, 

I!'. - ). 

Bored wells. 64. 
Bowling Green, 142. 
Calveri formation, 20. 



Caroline County, 141-145. 

General description. 141. 
Local supplies, 142. 
Bowling Green, 142. 
Conclusions. 144. 
Other localities, 143. 
Underground waters, 142. 
Springs. 142. 
Wells, 142. 
Causes, losses of head, etc.. 69. 
Causes of mineralization, 114. 
Changes in quality of the water. 07. 
diaries City County, 145-140. 
General description, 145. 
Local supplies, 146. 
Conclusions, 149. 
Underground waters, 145. 

Occurrence and character. 145. 
Springs, 146. 
Wells. 146. 
Chemical composition of ground water, 

41. 
Chesapeake group, 10. 
Divisions, 20. 

Calvert formation, 20. 
( hoptank formation, 20. 
St. Mary's formation. 20. 
Yorktown formation, 20. 
Extent and character, 19. 
Water supplies, 21. 
Chesapeake sands, 57. 
Chesterfield Apartments, S7. 
Chesterfield County. 149-158. 
General description, 149. 
Local supplies, 157. 
Conclusions, 158. 
Underground waters, 149. 

Occurrence and charact •: . 140. 
Springs, 150. 
Wells, 157. 
Choptank formation, 20. 
circulation of ground water, 39. 
Cisterns, 60. 

City and town supplies, notes on. 76. 
Climate, Coastal Plain, 7. 
Coastal Plain, 7-13. 
Climate. 7. 
( rystalline rocks, 12. 

Bed rock topography. 12. 
Character and extent, 12. 
< reographic position, 7. 
Geologic relations of Coastal Plain 
deposits, 11. 
General description, 11. 



(354) 



INDEX. 



355 



Thickness of deposits, 11. 
Topography, 10. 

General description, 10. 
Terraces, 10. 
Topographic types, 10. 
Water supplies, 13. 
Coastal Plain an artesian slope, 52. 
Collecting tunnels and drains, 61. 
General statement, 61. 
Mount Vernon, 62. 
Columbia beds, undifferentiated, 26. 
Columbia group, 23. 

Character and extent, 23. 
Divisions, 23. 
Origin, 25. 

Sunderland formation, 25. 
Talbot formation, 25. 
Wicomico formation, 25. 
Water supplies, 26. 
Columbia sands, 58. 

Comparison of records', deep wells, 113. 
Composition of deep water, 51. 
Conclusions, underground water supply 
by counties (see under in- 
dividual counties). 
Conservation of artesian supplies, 59. 
Controlling factors in soil absorption, 31. 
Cretaceous, 14. 

Lower, 14. 
Upper, 16. 
Crystalline rocks. 12. 

deep wells in, 83. 
Deep circulation, ground water, 48. 
Deep water, freshening of, 114. 
Deep waters of the Norfolk-Newport 
News area, 97. 
General statement, 97. 
Limits of area, 98. 
Deep wells in crystalline rocks, 83. 
Analyses of waters from wells in 
crystalline rocks near Rich- 
mond, 94. 
Changes in quality of the water, 97. 
Emporia, 93. 
General statement, 83. 
Probability of finding water by deep 

wells, 94. 
Wells in the northwestern part of 
Richmond and outlying dis- 
tricts to the northwest, 90. 
Wells near Richmond, 85. 

General conditions, 85. 
Wells near river front, 85. 
Albemarle Paper Co., 85. 
Other wells, 86. 
Richmond Paper Co., 85. 
Wells near the center of the city, 86. 
Chesterfield Apartments, 87. 



Hotel Jefferson, 86. 
Murphy's Hotel, 88. 
Richmond Hotel, 89. 
Wells south of Richmond, 92. 
Deep wells north of James River, 99. 
Back River, 102. 
Fort Monroe, 99. 
Hotel Chamberlain, 104. 
Newport News, 101. 
Deep wells north of Suffolk, 230. 
Deep wells, probability of finding water 

by, 94. 
Deep wells south of James River, 106. 
General statement, 106. 
Lambert Point, 107. 
Masons Creek, 107. 
Money Point, 107. 
Moore's Bridges, 109. 
Virginia Beach, 107. 
Definition of artesian waters, 51. 

ground water, 37. 
Dinwiddie County, 158-159. 
General description, 158. 
Geology, 158. 
Local supplies, 159. 
Conclusions, 159. 
Underground waters, 158. 

Occurrence and character, 158. 
Springs. 159. 
Wells, 159. 
Distribution and quality of underground 
waters (see under individual 
counties) . 
Distribution, origin, occurrence, and, of 

underground waters, 31. 
Divisions of Chesapeake group, 20. 
Columbia group, 23. 
Pamunkey group, 17. 
Potomac group, 15. 
Drilled wells, 65. 
Driven wells, 64. 
Dug wells, 63. 

Elizabeth City County, 159-163. 
General description, 159. 
Geology, 160. 
Local supplies, 160. 
Conclusions, 163. 
Underground waters, 160. 

Distribution and quality, 160. 
Springs. 160. 
Wells. 160. 
Emergence of ground water, 44. 
Emporia, 93. 
Eocene. 17. 

Erup Mineral Spring, 135. 
Essex County, 163-169. 

General description, 163, 
Local supplies, 165, 



356 



INDEX. 



Conclusions. 169. 
Underground waters. 163. 
Character and extent, 1 »'>:;. 
Springs, 1 <>4. 
Wells, 165. 
Evaporation, 31. 
Fairfax County, 169-175. 

General description, Hi'.). 
Local supplies, 17 1. 
Conclusions, 175. 
Underground waters, 17<>. 
Occurrence and character, 170. 
Springs, 171. 
Wells, 171. 
Faults in maintenance, 70. 
Abuse. 70. 
NTeglect, 70. 
Faults in sinking, 70. 
Flowing well areas. 58. 
Flowing wells along Blackwater River, 

195. 
James River, 104. 
rams at. 73. 
Fluctuation of level in artesian wells. 
54. 
water table. 37. 
Fort Monroe, 99. 
Freshening of deep water. 114. 
Function of ground water, 48. 
Geographic position, Coastal Plain. 7. 
Geologic formations and their water 

supplies, summary of. 28. 
Geologic relations. Coastal Plain de- 
posits, 11. 
Geology (sec under individual counties). 
Gloucester County, L75-181. 
General description, 175. 
Geology, 17-"). 
Local supplies, 177. 
Conclusions, 180. 
Underground waters. I7">. 

Distribution and quality, 17"). 
Springs, 176. 
Wells, 177. 
Greenesville County, L81-182. 
General description, L81. 
Geology. 181. 

Local supplies. 181. 

Underground waters. 181. 

Distribution and quality, 181. 
Ground water, 37-59. 

Areal extenl of pollution, 43. 

Artesian sand-. .")."). 

Chesapeake -amis. 57. 

I olumbia -and-. 58. 

Conservation of artesian supplies, 

59. 
Flowing well areas, 58. 



Number, 55. 

Pamunkey sands. 56. 

Potomac sands, 56. 
Artesian waters, 51. 

Artesian conditions, 51. 

Coastal Plain an artesian slope, 52. 

Definition of, 51. 

Initial head, 53. 

Loss of head, 53. 

Ponded water, 53. 

Source of artesian water, 5-2. 
Chemical composition of. 41. 
Circulation of, 39. 
Deep and artesian waters. 48. 

Composition of deep water. 51. 

Deep circulation. 48. 

Function of ground water. 48. 

Temperatures of deep water. 49. 
Definition of. 37. 
Emergence of, 44. 

Artesian springs. 46. 

Normal springs. 46. 

Perched springs, 46. 

Seeps, 44. 

Springs, 44. 
Fluctuation of level in artesian wells, 

54. 
Fluctuations of water table, 37. 
Ground water temperature, 41. 
Normal chlorine of. 42. 
Perched ground water. :><. 
Permanence of flow, 47. 
Pollution of. 43. 
Purity of supply. 47. 

Pollution of spring sources, 47. 

Quality of spring waters, is. 
Quality of artesian waters. 54. 
Pate of movement of. 40. 
Sources of spring waters. 46. 
Underground lakes and rivers, 11. 
Water table, 37. 
Ground water temperature, 41. 
Hanover County, 182-187. 

General description. 182. 

Geology. 182. 
Local supplies. 184. 

Conclusions. 187. 
Underground waters. 183. 

Distribution and character, is:;. 

Springs, 183. 
Henrico County. 187-192. 

General description. 187. 

Geology, 187. 
Local supplies, 190. 

Conclusions, 192. 
Underground waters, 188. 

Description and character. 188. 

Springs. 188. 



INDEX. 



35,7 



Wells, 189. 
Hotel Chamberlain; 104. 
Hotel Jefferson, 86. 
Hume, 134. 

Improvement of springs, 61. 
Initial head, 53. 
Interference, 71. 
Introduction, 1. 

Acknowledgments, 1. 
Literature, 2. 

Results of investigation, 3. 
Scope of report, 1. 
Isle of Wight County, 192-106. 
General description, 192. 
Geology, 193. 
Local supplies, 194. 
Conclusions, 196. 
Flowing wells along Blackwater 

River, 195. 
Flowing wells along James River. 
194. 
Underground waters, 193. 

Distribution and quality, 193. 
Springs, 193. 
Wells, 193. 
James City County, 196-200. 
General description, 196. 
Geology, 196. 
Local supplies, 197. 
Conclusions, 200. 
Underground waters, 197. 

Distribution and quality, 197. 
Springs, 197. 
Wells, 197. 
James River, deep wells north of, 99. 
deep wells south of, 106. 
flowing wells along, 194. 
King and Queen County, 200-204. 
General description, 200. 
Geology, 201. 
Local supplies, 202. 
Conclusions, 204. 
Underground waters, 201. 

Distribution and quality, 201. 
Springs, 201. 
Wells, 202. 
King George County, 204-208. 
General description, 204. 
Geology, 204. 
Local supplies, 205. 
Conclusions, 207. 
Potomac River, 206. 
Rappahannock River, 205. 
Underground waters, 205. 

Distribution and quality, 205. 
Springs, 205. 
Wells, 205. 
King William County, 208-213. 



General description, 208. 
Geology, 208. 
Topography, 208. 
Local supplies, 209. 
Conclusions, 213. 
Underground waters, 208. 

Distribution and quality. 20S. 
Springs, 209. 
Wells, 209. 
Lafayette formation, 21. 

Extent and character, 21. 
Origin, 22. 
Water supplies, 22. 
Lambert Point, 107. 
Lancaster County, 213-219. 
General description, 213. 
Geology, 214. 
Local supplies,- 215. 
Conclusions, 219. 
Underground waters, 214. 

Distribution and quality, 214. 
Springs, 214. 
Wells, 215. 
Limits of area (Norfolk-Newport News), 

98. 
Literature, 2. 

Local supplies, underground water 
{see under individual counties). 
Loss of head, 53. 

Losses of head or vield in flowing wells. 
69. 
Causes of, 69. 
Lower Cretaceous, 14. 
Magnetic wells, 68. 
Masons Creek, 107. 
Mathews County, 219-222. 

General description, 219. 
Geology, 220. 
Local supplies, 221. 
Conclusions, 222. 
Underground waters, 220. 
Extent and character, 220. 
Springs, 220. 
Wells, 221. 
Middlesex County, 222-227. 
General description, 222. 
Geology, 223. 
Local supplies, 224. 
Conclusions, 227. 
Underground waters, 223. 

Distribution and quality, 223. 
Springs, 223. 
Wells, 224. 
Mineral waters, 82. 

Value of, 83. 
Mineralization, causes of. 114. 
Miocene, 19. 
Money Point, 107. 



358 



INDEX. 



Moore's Bridges, 109. 

Mount Vernon collecting tunnels. 62. 

Municipal water supplies. 75. 

Notes on city and town supply. 76. 

Source of. 75. 

Stability of surface and underground 

waters, etc., 76. 
Surface water, 75. 
Underground water, 76. 
Murphy's Hotel, 88. 
Nanjemoy formation, 18. 
Nansemond County, 227-231. 
General description. 227. 
Geology, 228. 
Local supplies, 229. 
Conclusions, 231. 

Deep wells north of Suffolk, 230. 
Underground waters, 228. 

Extent and distribution, 228. 
Springs. 228. 
Wells. 228. 
New Kent County, 231-235. 
General description. 231. 
Geology, 232. 
Local supplies, 233. 
Conclusions, 235. 
Underground waters, 232. 

Distribution and quality, 232. 
Springs, 232. 
Wells, 233. 
Newport News, 101. 
Norfolk County. 235-243. 

General description. 235. 
Geology, 235. 
Local supplies. 237. 
Conclusions, 243. 
Underground waters. 236. 

Distribution and quality, 23C. 
Springs, 236. 
Wells. 237. 
Normal chlorine. 42. 
Normal springs, 46. 
Northampton County, 243-24S. 
General description. 24.'!. 
Geology, 243. 
Local supplies, 244. 
Conclusions, 248. 
Underground waters. 243. 

Distribution and quality, 2 1.'!. 
Springs, 244. 
Wells, 244. 
Northumberland County, 249-252. 
Genera] description, 240. 
Geology, 249. 
Local supplies, 250. 
Conclusions, 252. 
Underground waters, 240. 
Distribution and quality, 240. 



Springs, 249. 
Wells, 249. 
Notes on city and town supplies. 76. 
Number, artesian sands, 55. 
Occurrence, and distribution, origin, of 

underground waters. 31. 
Origin, occurrence, and distribution of 

underground waters. 31. 
Other localities, Alexandria County, 130. 

Caroline Count}', 143. 
Other wells, 86. 
Pamunkey group, 17. 
Divisions, 18. 

Aquia formation, 18. 
Nanjemoy formation, IS. 
Extent and character, 17. 
Water supplies, 10. 
Pamunkey sands, 56. 
Patapsco formation. 15. 
Patuxent formation, 15. 
Perched ground water, 38. 
Perched springs. 46. 
Permanence of flow, ground water, 47. 
Piedmont Plateau, 5. 
Pleistocene, 23. 
Pliocene ( ?), 21. 
Pollution of ground water, 43. 
Pollution of spring sources, 47. 
Ponded water, 53. 
Potomac group, 14. 
Divisions, 15. 

Patapsco formation, 15. 
Patuxent formation, 15. 
Kxtent and character, 14. 
Origin, 15. 
Water supplies, 16. 
Potomac River, King George County, 

206. 
Potomac sands, 56. 
Prince George County, 252-256. 
General description, 252. 
Geology, 252. 
Local supplies, 254. 
Conclusions. 255. 
Underground waters. 253. 

Distribution and quality, 253. 
Springs, 253. 
Wells, 254. 
Prince William County, 260-263. 
General description, 260. 
Geology, 260. 
Local supplies, 261. 
Underground waters. 261. 
Princess Anne County, 256-260. 
General description, 256. 
Geology, 256. 
Local supplies, 257. 
Conclusions. 259. 



INDEX. 



359 



Underground waters, 256. 

Distribution and quality, 256. 
Springs, 257. 
Wells, 257. 
Probability of finding water by deep 

wells, 94. 
Public health as related to underground 

water supply, 75. 
Public supplies, Alexandria County, 137. 
Purity of supply, ground water, 47. 
Quality of artesian waters, 54. 
Quality of spring waters, 48. 
Quality of the water, changes in, 97. 
Rams at flowing wells, 73. 

use of, 61. 
Rappahannock River, King George 

County, 205. 
Rate of movement of ground water, 40. 
Records, deep wells, comparison of, 113. 
Recovery' of water, 60-116. 

Causes of mineralization, 114. 
Cisterns, 60. 

Collecting tunnels and drains, 61. 
General statement, 61. 
Mount Vernon collecting tunnels, 62. 
Comparison of records, 113. 
Deep waters of the Norfolk-Newport 
News area, 97. 
General statement, 97. 
Limits of area, 98. 
Deep wells in crystalline rocks, 83. 
Analyses of waters from wells in 
crystalline rocks near Rich- 
mond, 94. 
Changes in quality of the water. 
97. 
Emporia, 93. 
General statement, 83. 
Probability of finding water by 

deep wells, 94. 
Wells in the northwestern part of 
Richmond and in outlying dis- 
tricts to the northwest, 90. 
Wells near Richmond, 85. 
General conditions, 85. 
Wells near river front, 85. 
Albemarle Paper Co., 85. 
Other wells, 86. 
Richmond Paper Co., 85. 
Wells near the center of the city, 86. 
Chesterfield Apartments, 87. 
Hotel Jefferson, 86. 
Murphy's Hotel, 88. 
Richmond Hotel, 89. 
Wells south of Richmond, 92. 
Deep wells north of James River, 99. 
Back River, 102. 
Fort Monroe, 99. 



Hotel Chamberlain, 104. 
Newport News, 101. 
Deep wells south of James River, 106. 

General statement, 106. 

Lambert Point, 107. 

Masons Creek, 107. 

Money Point, 107. 

Moore's Bridges, 109. 

Virginia Beach, 107. 
Faults in maintenance, 70. 

Abuse, 70. 

Neglect, 70. 
Faults in sinking, 70. 
Freshening of deep water, 114. 
Interference, 71. 

Losses of head or yield in flowing 
wells, 69. 

Causes, 69. 
Magnetic wells, 68. 
Mineral waters, 82. 

Value of, 83. 
Municipal water supplies, 75. 

Notes on city and town supplies, 76. 

Source of supply, 75. 

Stability of surface and underground 
waters for municipal needs, 76. 

Surface water, 75. 

Underground water, 76. 
Public health as related to under- 
ground water supply, 75. 
Sanitary protection of wells, 73. 
Springs and seeps, 60. 

Improvement of springs, 61. 

Use of rams, 61. 
Summary, 116. 
Utilization of supply, 72. 

Rams at flowing wells, 73. 
W T ells, 63. 

bored, 64. 

drilled, 65. 

driven, 64. 

dug, 63. 
Yield of wells, 68. 
Results of investigation, 3. 
Richmond, analyses of waters from wells 

in crystalline rocks near, 94. 
Richmond County, 263-267. 

General description, 263. 

Geology, 263. 
Local supplies, 264. 

Conclusions, 266. 
Underground waters, 263. 

Distribution and quality, 263. 

Springs, 263. 

Wells, 263. 
Richmond Hotel, 89. 
Richmond Paper Co., 85. 



360 



INDEX. 



Richmond, wells in the northwestern 
part and outlying districts, 90. 
wells near, 85. 
wells south of. 92. 
Run-off, 31. 

Sanitary protection of wells, 73. 
Scope of report, 1. 
Sedimentary deposits. 14. 
Seeps, 44. 
Soil solutions. 36. 
Soils, 32. 

Soils and soil solutions. 32. 
Soils, storage capacity of. :>2. 
Source of artesian water, 52. 
Source of supply, 75. 
Sources of spring waters. 46. 
Southampton County, 267-272. 
General description, 267. 
Geology, 267. 
Local supplies, 268. 
Conclusions, 272. 
Underground waters, 268. 

Distribution and quality, 268. 
Springs, 268. 
Wells, 268. 
Spottsylvania County, 272-27"). 
General description, 272. 
Underground waters, 273. 
Conclusions, 274. 
Distribution and quality, 273. 
Springs, 273. 
Wells, 274. 
Spring waters, quality of. 48. 
sources of, 46. 
Springs (see under individual counties). 
Springs, 44. 

artesian, 46. 
improvement of, 61. 
normal, 46. 
perched, 46. 
Springs and seeps, 60. 
Improvement of. 61. 
Use of rams at, 61. 
Si. Mary's formation, 20. 
Stability of surface and underground 

waters, etc., 76. 
Stafford County, 275. 

General description, 275. 
Geology, 275. 
I uderground waters, 275. 
Storage capacity of soils, -32. 
Suffolk, doop wells north of. 230. 
Summary, (loop water, 116. 
Sunderland formation. 25. 
Surface water, 75. 
Surrj County, -276-281. 

General description. 275. 
Geology, 276. 



Local supplies, 278. 
Conclusions, 280. 
Underground waters, 276. 

Distribution and quality. 276. 
Springs, 277. 
Wells, 278. 
Sussex County. 2S1-283. 

General description. 281. 
Geology, 281. 
Local supplies, 282. 
Underground waters, 281. 

Distribution and quality. 281. 
Springs, 282. 
Wells, 282. 
Tables of spring data, 334-337. 

well data, 298-333, 338-353. 
Tabulated well data, 295. 
Talbot formation, 25. 
Temperature of deep water, 49. 
Tertiary, 17. 

Topographic and geologic provinces of 
Virginia, 5-13. 
Coastal Plain, 7. 
Climate, 7. 
Crystalline rocks, 12. 
Geographic position, 7. 
Geological relation of Coastal Plain 

deposits, 11. 
Topography, 10. 
Water supplies, 13. 
Piedmont Plateau, 5. 
Topography. Coastal Plain, 10. 
Town supplies, notes on city and. 76. 
Inderground lakes and rivers. 41. 
Underground water, 76. 
Underground water supplies bv counties, 
117-296. 
Accomac, 117-133. 
Alexandria. 133-141. 
Caroline, 141-145. 
Charles City, 145-149. 
Chesterfield, 149-158. 
Dinwiddie, 158-159. 
Elizabeth City, 159-1(13. 
Essex, 163-169. 
Fairfax, 169-175. 
Gloucester. 175-181. 
Greenesville, 181-182. 
Hanover, 182-187. 
Henrico. 187-192. 
Isle of Wight, 192-196. 
James City, 196-200. 
King and Queen. 200-204. 
King George, 204-208. 
King William. 208-213. 
Lancaster, 213-219. 
Mathews. 219-222. 
Middlesex. 222-227. 



INDEX. 



361 



Nansemond, 227-231. 
New Kent, 231-235. 
Norfolk, 235-243. 
Northampton, 243-248. 
Northumberland, 249-252. 
Prince George, 252-256. 
Prince William, 260-263. 
Princess Anne, 256-260. 
Richmond, 263-267. 
Southampton, 267-272. 
Spottsylvania, 272-275. 
Stafford, 275. 
Surry, 276-281. 
Sussex, 281-283. 
Warwick, 284-286. 
Westmoreland, 286-292. 
York, 292-295. 
Underground water supply, public health 

as related to, 75. 
Underground waters' (see under indi- 

vidua I counties ) . 
Underground waters, 31-36. 

Origin, occurrence, and distribution, 
31. 
Controlling factors in soil absorp- 
tion, 31. 
Evaporation, 31. 
General statement, 31. 
Run-off, 31. 

Storage capacity of soils, 32. 
Soils and soil solutions, 32. 
Soil solutions, 36. 
Soils, 32. 
Undifferentiated Columbia beds. 26. 
Upper Creetaceous, 16. 
Use of rams, 61. 
Utilization of supply, 72. 

Rams at flowing wells, 73. 
Value of mineral waters. 83. 
Virginia Beach, 107. 
Warwick County, 284-286. 
General description, 284. 
Geology, 284. 
Local supplies, 285. 
Conclusions, 286. 
Underground waters, 284. 

Distribution and quality, 284. 
Springs, 284. 
Wells, 285. 
Water supplies, Chesapeake group, 21. 
Coastal Plain, 13. 



Columbia' group, 26. 
Lafayette" formation. 22. 
Pamunkey group, 19. 
Potomac group, 16. 
undifferentiated, Colum- 
bia, beds, 27. 
Water table. 37. 
Well data, tabulated, 295. 
Wells, 63. 
bored, 63. 
drilled, 64. 
driven, 64. 
dug, 63. 
magnetic. 68. 
yield of, 68. 
Wells {see under individual counties). 
Wells in the northwestern part of Rich- 
mond and -outlying districts, 90. 
Wells near Richmond, 85. 
Wells near river front, 85. 
Albemarle Paper Co., 85. 
Other wells, 86. 
Richmond Paper Co., 85. 
Wells near the center of the city, 86. 
Chesterfield Apartments, 87. 
Hotel Jefferson, 86. 
Murphy's Hotel, 88. 
Richmond Hotel, 89. 
Wells, sanitary protection of, 73. 
Wells south of Richmond, 92. 
Westmoreland County, 286-292. 
General description. 286. 
Geology, 287. 
Local supplies, 288. 
Conclusions, 292. 
Underground waters, 287. 

Distribution and quality, 287. 
Springs, 288. 
Wells, 288. 
Wicomico formation, 25. 
Yield of wells, 68. 
York County, 292-295. 

General description, 292. 
Geology, 292. 
Local supplies, 293. 
Conclusions, 294. 
Underground waters, 293. 

Distribution and quality, 293. 
Springs, 293. 
Wells, 293. 
Yorktown formation, 20. 



VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVE 



BULLETIN NO. V. PLATE I 




